This Colorado Avalanche team has the most explosive offense in the NHL this season, and it doesn’t waste time reminding everyone.
For the ninth time this season, the Avs scored in the first 90 seconds of the game, grabbing another early lead and keeping the Nashville Predators at arm’s length the rest of this Saturday night in a 4-2 victory at Ball Arena. Scott Wedgewood made 27 saves for his 14th win, which is tied for the league lead, and the Avs are now 13-0-2 at home this season.
Nathan MacKinnon collected a pass from Brent Burns just before the red line, galloped into the offensive zone and snapped a shot past ex-Avs goalie Justus Annunen at 1:26 of the first.
It was MacKinnon’s NHL-leading 26th goal of the season. That is also 20 even-strength goals for MacKinnon. There is only one player in the league — Boston’s Morgan Geekie — who has scored more than 20 goals overall this season.
MacKinnon, who added an assist on Valeri Nichushkin’s empty-net tally, also leads the league with 55 points. Edmonton’s Connor McDavid has amassed 15 in his past five contests to get within four of MacKinnon.
Jack Drury got a fortunate bounce to give Colorado a 2-0 advantage later in the first during a 4-on-4 situation. Drury’s shot from the high slot deflected off the defender in front of him and was going wide of the net before it hit off the shin pad of Nashville defenseman Nicolas Hague and redirected into the net at 11:47.
It was Drury’s fifth goal of the season, and his first since scoring Nov. 22 at Nashville. Cale Makar collected his 28th assist and 38th point of the season, which are both setting the pace among defensemen in the league.
Nashville was able to solve Colorado’s top-ranked penalty kill and get one back just 50 seconds later. Ex-Avs forward Ryan O’Reilly fed Jonathan Marchessault for a one-timer in the right circle at 12:37 of the second. It was only the 13th goal Colorado has allowed while shorthanded this season, and the 11th in a 4-on-5 situation.
Victor Olofsson made it a 3-1 advantage with the lone goal of the middle period. Samuel Girard tried to make a cross-ice pass with the a delayed penalty coming on the Predators, but Nashville forward Michael Bunting got a piece of it. The puck went right to Olofsson in the slot, and he was able to spin and score his seventh goal of the season.
This was Annunen’s first start against the Avalanche since being traded to the Predators along with a sixth-round pick for Wedgewood on Nov. 30, 2004. That trade has paid immense dividends for the Avs, but has not been a win-win transaction.
Wedgewood improved to 27-5-5 since joining the Avs with the win, including a 14-1-4 record this season. Annunen is now 10-16-2 with the Predators, which includes just one victory this season. He entered this contest 1-4-1 with an .846 save percentage this year, though with 37 saves, this was Annunen’s best start of the season.
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