The Colorado Avalanche honored the Stanley Cup champions from 30 years ago, then the current club worked over the two-time defending champs.
Nathan MacKinnon broke a record previously held by Joe Sakic for most goals scored in a Colorado uniform and the Avs blitzed the Florida Panthers, 6-2, Thursday night at Ball Arena.
Members of the 1995-96 championship team were honored before the game, with the Stanley Cup on the ice. Sixteen players from the team were on the ice together, along with Chris Simon’s children and Pierre Lacroix’s wife.
“It was awesome,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “It’s a great reminder of where our team is trying to go. It was great for all of the present guys to meet some of the guys from the past that they’ve watched, that have a legacy built here.”
This was the 10th straight win at home for the Avalanche. Colorado is 12-0-2 this season at Ball Arena.
The Avs blew this game open with a trio of goals in the second period, and it could have been worse. Gavin Brindley missed the past 10 games, but made a big impact in his return. He shoveled home the rebound of a Brent Burns on a 2-on-1 at 5:05 of the second.
Brindley also set up Artturi Lehkonen for a breakaway goal at 12: 31 of the period, which gave Colorado a 5-1 advantage.
“I felt pretty good today, and was pretty jacked up to play,” Brindley said. “I just wanted to get back in there and help the team in any way I can.”
In between those two, MacKinnon scored from the top of the offensive zone. That goal was No. 392 of his career, which is one more than Sakic for the most by a member of the franchise since it moved to Denver.
A two-point night for MacKinnon pushed his NHL-leading total to 53. He also scored his league-leading 25th goal.
“He was a horse on the puck tonight,” Bednar said. “I can’t keep track of his milestones, because it seems like he’s getting one every game … but he was really good tonight.”
Martin Necas thought he had given the Avs a five-goal lead late in the second with a power-play goal, but the tally was taken off the board because the Avs were offside entering the offensive zone.
Captain Gabe Landeskog did, in fact, push Colorado’s lead to 6-1 at 6:18 of the third. It was Landeskog’s sixth goal of the season.
Sam Malinski scored on the second shift of the game to give Colorado an early lead. Malinski joined the offensive attack late from the bench, but Necas found him for a shot from the edge of the right circle and his third goal of the year just 74 seconds into this contest.
The Avs dominated the start of this game. Florida played the night before at Utah, while Colorado took Wednesday off after a four-game road trip. The Panthers are the latest team from the Eastern Conference to not enjoy the new-look geography in the West.
Colorado finished the first period with 20 shots on goal, all during the 16 minutes of 5-on-5 play.
Brock Nelson put the Avs back in front with 1:30 left in the period. He found the rebound of a Cale Makar point shot and backhanded it past Florida goalie Daniil Tarasov while being checked to the ice at the edge of the crease.
Joel Kiviranta did not play in the final two periods of this game. Brindley’s return left just Logan O’Connor on the injured list, making this the healthiest game of the season for Colorado, until Kiviranta departed. Bednar said Kiviranta is dealing with an upper-body injury and will be further evaluated on Friday.
Florida is missing its two best players (Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk) and starting goalie Sergei Bobrovsky played the night before, but this was a statement win by the current NHL leaders against the 2024 and 2025 Cup winners.
“We know they’re dealing with a lot right now with injuries,” said Mackenzie Blackwood, who made 23 saves and is now 9-1-1 this season. “It’s not necessarily what you’re going to get come June, but it’s always nice to beat a team like that.”
Blackwood’s team certainly looks like it could play into June this season.
FOOTNOTES: Brindley’s return caused the most significant alterations of the forward group to date. Valeri Nichushkin returned to the second line after a few contests on the third. Brindley landed on the third line with Ross Colton at center, a first for him this year. Jack Drury dropped down to the fourth line after playing the first 30 games as the 3C.
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