The Colorado Avalanche have suffered a litany of injuries this season, but I didn’t expect that trend to strike the coaching staff. Here we are, though, as the Avalanche made a concerned comeback effort that fell short in a game where a stray puck caught their lead bench boss up-high.
Following the game, the Avalanche informed the public that Bednar was “fully alert and conscious” but was heading for a CT scan. Now we know the loose puck resulted in an orbital abrasion and facial fractures that will
not require surgery, but will keep him from traveling with the team on their upcoming two-game road trip.
As far as the rest of the game went, Vegas clinched a playoff birth on the back of a Jack Eichel OT winner in what played out as a back-and-forth slugfest.
The Game
Establishing a lead has been a common goal for the Avalanche this season, and last night’s game started with a goal from none other than Devon Toews.
His tally at the 9:17 mark was the result of a point wrister that was screened beautifully by Gabe Landeskog and went right through the seven-hole. 1-0 good guys.
The Golden Knights would only need four and a half minutes to log an equalizer.
Mark Stone scored on the power play on an odd-bounce play where Mitch Marner threw the puck toward the net. It bounced off two players (including Mark Stone himself), fell to Stone’s feet, and he was able to tuck it past Blackwood, and we were tied at one a side after one period of play.
Pavel Dorofeyev scored his 36th goal of the season by picking the top corner over Blackwood’s right shoulder just two minutes and nine seconds into the second period, and the Knights took the 2-1 lead.
It was Nicolas Roy and Nick Blankenburg combining on a tying goal, Colorado style, as Blankenburg’s shot from the blue line hit the post, went off of Carter Hart, and into the net.
That was Nick Blankenburg’s 7th of the season, and although I’ve been critical of his defensive play in the past, I do see him making strides inside this system. His first goal as an Avalanche should propel that even further.
The third period would come and go all knotted at two a side, and this contest would require OT.
Jack Eichel would prove the OT hero for the Vegas Golden Knights after Martin Necas and Devon Toews nearly combined on a game-winner. The puck fluttered off of Toews’ stick on a grade A chance, which resulted in an odd man rush the other way.
With Mark Stone on his left, Jack Eichel broke in and decided he’d go with the shot rather than the pass and beat Blackwood for the win.
Takeaways
I think it’s safe to say most fans are cool with not seeing the Avalanche in those Nordiques jerseys. They haven’t had much success in them, and now they’ve seen their Head Coach leave the game during a Nords night. It might seem silly, but humans are superstitious, and hockey fans and players take that to a whole other level.
As previously mentioned, it’s nice to see Blankenburg taking steps in the right direction, and moreover, Devon Toews play in the absence of Cale Makar has noticeably improved.
Obviously, not having Makar is less than ideal, but the added pressure has fallen on the remaining defense, and it’s brought out the best in Toewser. Sure, he’d likely want that two-on-one potential game-winner back, but we know about bounces here in Colorado.
Not sure what is happening on home ice for the Avalanche of late, but I’m not going to get too worked up about it. When playoff hockey comes around, having the crowd on your side will go a long way, and if the Avalanche can establish early leads at home, it will prove tough for any opposition to stage a comeback.
One last thing, Erik Johnson is quickly becoming my favorite hockey media personality. Obviously, I have my bias, but putting that aside, he’s been really good at his job and appears more than capable of providing answers we might not get if the questioner were different.
Upcoming
The Avalanche will head to Edmonton for a showdown with the Oilers tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. MT.
Let us know what you thought of this contest in the comments!
