Recap: Cale Makar prevails Avs to win

1 year ago  /  Mile High Hockey

Photo by Ashley Potts/NHLI via Getty Images


All hail Cale baby. What a relief.
Cale Makar played heroics as he went over 100 feet on the ice in the extra frame to go through all of the Arizona Coyotes defenders to score a 3-2 overtime winner for the Colorado Avalanche.
It was scary at points, and from the third period and beyond a dominant performance from the Avs. It was only a matter of whether or not they could get over the hump.
First Period
Colorado managed to get up early as Denis Malgin scored on a neat little backhander to get things started. It is Malgin’s third goal in four games as he’s really coming into his own now in an Avs uniform.
But, it wouldn’t last long as Jake McBain managed to corral a rebound off the pad of Alexandar Georgiev at the front of the net to put it in. The 4x6 goal called for it and got it in the end.
Before the conclusion of the frame, the Coyotes would strike again. This time, the Avs got caught out defensively late when they allowed Clayton Keller to streak in all alone on the near side to grab the lead heading into the room.
Second Period
After an early power play for the Avs was killed off, it seemed as if they had scored afterward. Matt Nieto had taken the puck out of the air and it ended up behind Connor Ingram and in. But, it was deemed a hand pass and ultimately didn’t count.
But, center Nathan MacKinnon made sure to get one that counted. On an ensuing power play, he snuck one through traffic and through Ingram and in.
They didn’t look back from there, as they attacked at every opportunity they could but they simply couldn’t beat the brick wall heading into the room tied.
Third Period
Again, the Avs continued to push. In fact, from here on out, the Coyotes never even got a shot on goal. They would go the final 25ish minutes without a shot on Georgiev.
Every line tried their best to find the winning goal, especially the third line with Andrew Cogliano having several chances he couldn’t convert.
Ultimately, the shots in the frame ended 16-0, but the score ended 0-0 in the period thanks to the heroics of Ingram. It gave Arizona a point and a chance to grab the other amidst the chaos of the upcoming overtime.
Overtime
The Coyotes had their possession but kept giving it up pretty quickly. It gave the Avs tons of chances and continued to keep the puck away from Georgiev. Makar would take matters into his own hands to finish it off for good and give Colorado a much-needed two points.

Takeaways
The Avs matched up and eventually overpowered the Coyotes after the second period. While things were scary in the first period when Arizona went into the intermission with the lead, Colorado hadn’t woken up yet. They got there eventually, but a full 60 minutes and keeping up a good start defensively in the first period would be ideal moving forward.
Malgin has been a nice bright spot in the bottom six recently. As mentioned earlier, he now has three goals in the last four games and now eight on the year. While it took some time to get him rolling in an Avs uniform, he has found a groove now. If he can keep it up, he will be crucial down the stretch and almost be like a mini-Andre Burakovsky perhaps.
With the win, the Avs remain in third place in the Central Division now with basically a month to go in the season. They are three points behind the Minnesota Wild and five points behind the Dallas Stars with a game in hand. With results elsewhere, Colorado could really challenge but also easily fall if they go on another losing streak.
Upcoming
The Avs go on one of their last long road trips of the year out to Eastern Canada, first up against the struggling Montreal Canadiens. Puck drop is Monday night at 5:30 p.m. MT.
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