The atmosphere in Ball Arena on Wednesday night was different for more reasons than one.
Long-time Colorado Avalanche defenseman and beloved teammate Erik Johnson played his first game in Colorado wearing a jersey other than the familiar burgundy since leaving Denver for the Buffalo Sabres. The Avs honored him with a tribute that was guaranteed to make even the toughest Avalanche fan shed a tear.
Thank you @6ErikJohnson #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/i0c0bs6zJ3
— AltitudeTV (@AltitudeTV) December 14, 2023
The Avalanche played a good game with several exciting achievements and ultimately added a 5–1 victory to their scorecard.
Sam Malinski, Nathan MacKinnon, Valeri Nichushkin and Mikko Rantanen each had a landmark night in the statistic department, but more on that later
First period
Colorado was off to a hot start and kept the Sabres to an impressive zero shots on goal for over 13 minutes.
With the defense locked in, the historically prolific offense was set up for success.
After breaking a nine-game scoring drought in Monday’s game, Rantanen netted his second goal in two games. The usual suspects, MacKinnon and Cale Makar, both added assists, and the Avalanche took an early 1–0 lead.
Patience from Mikko 🤌#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/h9lRL0N3y5
— x – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) December 14, 2023
Nichushkin followed suit and scored netted first goal of the night (and 99th NHL goal) just over halfway through the first period, and Miles Wood joined in on the fun a minute and a half later to give the home team an exciting 3–0 lead.
Eleventh of the season for Chu Chu!#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/sE7dsC8lpK
— x – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) December 14, 2023
The Sabres could find their only chance to score 18 minutes into the period, but it would not make a dent in the game’s outcome.
The Avalanche outshot Buffalo 15–6 at the end of the first frame.
Second period
Lately, it has seemed like Colorado has been struggling to capitalize on opportunities during the second period, and this game was no different.
The previously struggling Sabres closed the shooting gap and left the Avalanche with a measly five shots on goal to their 15.
If the Avalanche defense was not on top of its game, the offensive lull could have proven disastrous, but the period remained scoreless.
Third period
The Avs played the last frame relatively clean, and there were goals to show for it. Malinski has been playing in Denver for several games and has been making a big impact, but the only thing missing was his first NHL goal.
With help from Jack Johnson and Jonathan Drouin, the rookie finally netted a goal. To make it even more special, his dad was in the house to see it happen.
We are SO here for it. #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/EItArPzhKp
— x – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) December 14, 2023
Adding to the already lively showing, Nichushkin nets his second of the game on a power play, assisted by MacKinnon and Rantanen. With this one goal, three milestones were achieved. Nichushkin recorded his 100th goal, MacKinnon’s 800th assist and Rantanen’s 550th point.
Takeaways
One of the most important things from this team is the ability to bounce back from losses and, more importantly, stop them from happening. Until recently, the Avalanche have made a habit of allowing opposing teams to score within the last seconds of a period, occasionally costing them the game.
With that unfavorable trend appearing to end, the inconsistent second period is the next thing to address. In Monday’s game against the Flames, the Avalanche allowed five unanswered goals into their net in the second period alone. The team’s absence in the second frame against the Flyers on Saturday resulted in the game quickly getting out of hand.
A source of criticism has been the inefficiency of the power play. However, Colorado went 1 for 2 and Nichushkin has been a huge contributor to the improvement.
Lastly, Ivan Prosvetov has proven to be an excellent addition to the roster. With a .919 save percentage and four wins under his belt, he has been a tremendous source of relief to Alexandar Georgiev and stepping up in the absence of Pavel Francouz.
Ivan did his thing ❌#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/CF9kfhsjqU
— x – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) December 14, 2023
The Avalanche will have a quick road trip to Winnipeg on Saturday before returning to Colorado against the Sharks on Sunday.