The Colorado Avalanche returned to Ball Arena in downtown Denver, CO, to face the Toronto Maple Leafs. Colorado came in riding the high of a 7-3 thumping of the Calgary Flames. The Leafs blew a three-goal lead and fell to the Vegas Golden Knights last time out.
Early magic from Nathan MacKinnon and a solid shot share had Avalanche fans feeling another high-scoring win was on the table.
Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and the Toronto Maple Leafs had other plans.
First Period
Remember Nick Blankenburg? He reminded
the Avalanche early in the first when Nylander drew a delayed penalty, letting Blankenburg crash the net. A well-placed cross-ice pass found Nick, who fired it past MacKenzie Blackwood on Toronto’s first shot. Not an ideal start for Colorado, they fell behind 1-0 just three minutes in.
Colorado responded well with some chances that culminated in Nathan MacKinnon single-handedly willing the puck into the net through Sergie Bobrovsky’s five-hole. MacKinnon’s explosiveness was on full display as he blew past four Leafs and stuffed the puck between Bobrovsky’s legs before the goalie could react, tying the game 1-1 at 10:46.
MacKinnon wasn’t done with his first-period showcase, as he potted another on a tremendous solo effort and shot. He hit the brakes, spun away from the boards, created space in the high slot, and fired it home, giving the Avalanche a 2-1 lead at 15:14.
Second Period
The second frame is where things really began to slip for the Avalanche, starting with a William Nylander power-play goal. Somehow, the Avalanche left Nylander wide open at the doorstep, giving him space for his forehand-backhand move. Blackwood was completely down and out after the move, giving up two goals on 9 shots on goal at 6:53 in the second period. Things were tied at two-a-side.
Brock Nelson should be proud of the goal that restored Colorado’s one-goal lead, as his repeated attempts to gather and fire the puck in front paid off on his third shot. At 12:35 in the second, Nelson won the puck in the corner and shot; it was jarred loose. He gathered a rebound and shot again, and on the third attempt, it went into the top corner. The Avalanche took a 3-2 Lead on the bounceback.
Willy got loose on the Avalanche again at 16:47 in the second when Brett Kulak’s clearing attempt was kept in, leading to a Nylander shot from the high slot that went right through a sprawling MacKinnon and MacKenzie Blackwood. Toronto regained the 3-2 lead on their 11th framed shot of the evening.
Toronto’s 12th shot on goal went in as well, with Easton Cowan firing a one-timer into the net on a feed from Auston Matthews at 17:33. That’s right, just 46 seconds after Nylander’s goal, Auston Matthews second assist and Nylander’s 4th point of the night gave Toronto the 4-3 lead in Colorado.
Third Period
Toronto dominated the rest of the way, with Matthews adding two goals to his two assists, first on the power play. Wouldn’t you know it, Willy Nylander got a 5th point at 12:02 in the third, with a secondary assist from Kirill Marchenko. The Leafs took a commanding 5-3 third-period lead.
Matthews’ second-period goal was an empty-net, unassisted goal as the Avalanche fell to the Leafs 6-3 on home ice.
Takeaways
Listen, it’s just game five and only their second loss of the season, but I’m a little concerned about Colorado’s style of play. It feels like the Avalanche have been too unsettled defensively. I was hoping we’d see a commitment to defensive hockey this season, and Colorado’s defensive lapses (though few) typically lead to high-danger chances. I do think they limited the shots and could have gotten a better performance in net to support their efforts.
People will likely talk about it over the weekend and heading into Colorado’s Tuesday game with the rival Dallas Stars, but MacKenzie Blackwood wasn’t statistically good this evening. I hope I did a good enough job explaining Toronto’s goals, because Blackwood’s numbers deserve some context. Many of Toronto’s goals came on wide-open looks for one reason or another, including defensive lapses. Unfortunately, the numbers are bad enough that context likely won’t do much to ease fans’ or Blackwood’s minds.
Nathan MacKinnon is on a mission and, in my opinion, has been Colorado’s best player every game so far. Not saying others haven’t been good, but what we are watching Nathan MacKinnon do right now is very impressive.
Up Next
As previously mentioned, the Colorado Avalanche will meet the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night at American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX.
