Recap: Colorado completes compelling comeback, cooling Canucks

6 months ago  /  Mile High Hockey

Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images


A four-unanswered goal comeback sets the tone for fifth straight win. How about them apples?!
The Colorado Avalanche came to face the Vancouver Canucks and answered the call on the second leg of a back-to-back and won 4-3 in overtime. It was not an easy road to get there, with the Avs falling behind 3-0 and digging themselves out of a hole late to finish the job.
It is the fifth straight win for the Avalanche dating back to their 5-0 shutout win against the Chicago Blackhawks last Monday. It also snapped the Canucks four-game winning streak coming into this matchup. Perhaps this win shows the Avs have also put their road woes behind them. Let’s go over this incredible game, shall we?
First Period
Colorado would bite the dust early in quick succession to start this game. J.T. Miller deflected Ian Cole’s shot off the post and in behind Alexandar Georgiev just 24 seconds into the game.


MILESTONE MILLER❗️NEW CAREER HIGH - 33RD OF THE SEASON!❗️ pic.twitter.com/gTsAROCgSW— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) March 14, 2024




Just 2:20 later, Vancouver struck again. Ilya Mikheyev lost his man in front of the net and was able to deflect a pass into the twine to double the lead just three minutes into the game.


MILLER ➡️ MIKHEYEV pic.twitter.com/cb47PgryA9— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) March 14, 2024




While Brock Boeser just missed the chance to make it 3-0 in front, Colorado did its best to just hang on and find their legs. They would shut down the Canucks offensively but didn’t create much going the other way.
Caleb Jones had perhaps the best chance of the frame, but his chance between the circles was deflected away. The same could be said about a scrum in front of Casey DeSmith, where they got bodies in front of the puck and the Avs just couldn’t find a clean look at the net.
Josh Manson would find himself in trouble when he hit Miller’s head into the boards in the far corner, drawing a crowd. His two-minute penalty would carry over to the start of the second, with his team looking to kill it off and try to swing momentum back in their favor.


Josh Manson hits J.T. Miller into the boards and he is slow to get up. Looks like he'll be alright. #Canucks | #GoAvsGo : Sportsnet | NHL pic.twitter.com/yarO3sBn9Q— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) March 14, 2024




Second Period
Georgiev was called upon early, making a few key saves to keep it at 2-0. But he couldn't stop them all, as former Av Nikita Zadorov blasted one past the netminder to make it 3-0.


Big shot from the big man. pic.twitter.com/ikwUCzUDxU— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) March 14, 2024




Zadorov would get into a fight moments later with Manson, who had to respond for his hit on Miller at the end of the first period. Not many punches were thrown, but with Big Z going down first, was looking to give Colorado a chance with some momentum in their favor.

After a pair of penalties from both sides, the Avs offense started to wake up a little bit. They were controlling the puck better and trying to get it to the net, but Vancouver did extremely well to block everything.
At the other end, Georgiev had a few shaky moments with a loose rebound going just wide, and a failed open ice poke check which luckily didn’t go in. It worked out for Colorado, as Mikko Rantanen’s 11th straight game with a point gave the Avs life with 20 minutes to go.


You’ll take them any way you can get them from Mikko Rantanen! The Avs have a shot #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/wP3NOsNiVS— Mile High Hockey (@MileHighHockey) March 14, 2024




Third Period
A pair of early penalties on Vancouver gave the Avs even more life. Yakov Trenin drew the initial call, while Nathan MacKinnon earned a hooking penalty on Ian Cole. The latter of the two would convert on a 5-on-3 to get the Avs within one.


Nathan MacKinnon being Nathan MacKinnon. That is all #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/v3pAkMvO2t— Mile High Hockey (@MileHighHockey) March 14, 2024




This only helped Colorado’s momentum, as they were skating everywhere and pinned Vancouver in their zone. A third-line shift in particular sent Canucks flying, and somehow Ross Colton on his stomach managed to get enough of the puck past a diving DeSmith and just got it over the line. After initially being called no goal and after a review, the comeback was complete with the game tied at three.


What a shift, what a finish, and what a comeback! Game on baby! #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/Bpy9x7ltmh— Mile High Hockey (@MileHighHockey) March 14, 2024




After killing off a Joel Kiviranta call, both teams played a steady third period to hang on and not concede in their respective ends. They got looks, but not enough to beat their respective netminders.
But, Carson Soucy made a critical error throwing the puck over the glass on his own with under 10 seconds left in regulation. But, the Avs couldn’t convert. Hence, this game needed up to an additional five minutes to decide the result with Colorado on the man advantage.
Overtime
The Avs didn’t wait long to throw the final punch. On the power play, MacKinnon’s shot from his usual spot deflected off of Cole, then off the visor of Valeri Nichushkin and in. The double-doinker completed the comeback in an incredible 4-3 win.


DOUBLE-DOINK OT WINNER BABY! #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/RrKlN4ACG6— Mile High Hockey (@MileHighHockey) March 14, 2024




Takeaways
What an unreal comeback. This team looked down and out midway through the second period. But the turnaround was phenomenal by a hungry Avalanche team. The late second-period goal set the tone for the third, which Colorado dominated and blew Vancouver away. On the second leg of a back-to-back, it makes this win extra special - the fifth one in a row.
That being said, there are certainly some questions to arise from the first half of the game. Granted it was a back-to-back, but the Avs did not show up and put themselves behind early. If they come out and play like they did in the third period, they are going to be extremely hard to beat. But, part of the reason they fell behind was a lack of bodies. Jonathan Drouin was ruled out right before the game started with a lower-body injury dating back to his hit and awkward fall he took in Calgary. Already without Logan O’Connor, Zach Parise, and Artturi Lehkonen, it was always going to be tough but they persevered in a big way playing 11/7 in this game.
This win sweeps the season series between the Avs and Canucks. Against the best team in the West, it is a wonderful result. Not only is it good for the record books, but it is phenomenal for the Avalanche and their run towards the top of the Central Divison in a race between them, the Dallas Stars and Winnipeg Jets. I’ll let this tweet do the talking.


This is how big tonight’s result is Good night Avs faithful. Recap coming shortly #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/YDZE8HuHIG— Mile High Hockey (@MileHighHockey) March 14, 2024




Upcoming
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