Recap: Nichushkin, MacKinnon lead Avalanche to come-from-behind win against Leafs

1 week ago  /  Mile High Hockey  /  Read Time: 3 minutes 12 seconds

Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images


Both players combined for five of the team’s seven goals. The new guys were impressive, and the established veterans put on a virtuoso performance.
Valeri Nichushkin completed his first career hat trick. Nathan MacKinnon scored twice, burying his 100th point of the season in the process, and the Colorado Avalanche rallied to defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs 7-4 at Ball Arena.
The Leafs got off to a hot start, scoring three goals on the first nine shots of the game against Mackenzie Blackwood, but as the game approached the deep waters, Colorado began to poke away and eventually punctured the tires of the Leafs on both ends of the puck. MacKinnon’s power play goal at 15:45 of the third broke a 4-4 tie. Nichushkin added an empty-net goal, and MacKinnon followed suit to put the game away.
Colorado (38-24-2) finished with five unanswered goals. Newly-acquired Brock Nelson and Charlie Coyle each had an assist in their respective debuts.
Mitch Marner and John Tavares each scored twice, and Auston Matthews had three assists to extend his point streak to 12 games for the Maple Leafs (38-22-3), who have lost three consecutive games. Despite making critical saves at stretches during the game, Anthony Stolarz took the loss in a 27-save performance.
On the other end of the ice, Blackwood recovered from a shaky start to take home the win as he stopped 17 of 21 shots.
First Period
Nelson made an impact from the onset, ringing one off the post in his first shot in the bergundy and blue. 56 seconds into the period, Nichushkin scored his 13th goal of the season when he deflected a shot from Lindgren that snuck under Stolarz’s blocker.
However, Toronto responded right away when Marner rang one off the post and in on the first shot of the game for the Maple Leafs.
With 13:52 remaining in the frame, Nichushkin scored for the second time, but in this instance, he was deadly on the forehand, gathering a loose puck from Nelson and cracking a wrister by Stolarz.
However, over six minutes later, a defensive turnover tied the game. Drouin coughed up the puck in the slot and Taveras, a former first overall pick, pounced on the opportunity and fired the puck by Blackwood.
The defensive struggles continued for the Avalanche when they got sucked down too low in their own zone. McMann beat Makar to the puck behind the net and found Marner in the slot unguarded. He blasted home a one-timer just above the right faceoff circle to give Toronto a 3-2 lead.
Second Period
The Avalanche went on their first power play of the game after Philippe Myers was whistled for tripping after Logan O’Connor drew the call. After a failed conversion, Michael Nylander was busted for hooking Nelson. Nečas was also cross-checked from behind on the previous play, and there were several trips in the opening period that were missed. From that perspective, Toronto only having two penalties at this point in the game was fortuitous.
With 7:46 left in the frame, Jack Drury was sent to the sin bin for hooking, although some felt it was a soft call. Unfortunately for Colorado, they immediately gave up a goal on the penalty kill to make it a two-goal deficit. Auston Matthews delivered Tavares a perfect feed for his second score of the game, but this time on the man-advantage.
Colorado, however, responded on a terrific transition when Ross Colton found Kiviranta in the slot to make it a one-goal game with 4:49 left in the period.
Nichushkin went for the hat-trick down with just over two minutes to go in the period still down 3-2, but his backhander was denied by Stolarz, which led big Val to pound the glass in frustration.
Third Period
Jonathan Drouin made it a 4-4 game with 8:05 remaining in the final period when he one-timed a pass from newly-acquired Charlie Coyle’s centering pass from behind the net at the left hash marks.
Nearly four minutes later, MacKinnon made it a 5-4 game on the power play when he beat Stolarz glove side with a wrister.
Nichushkin and MacKinnon then completed their twosome of empty-netters to send the home fans happy with yet another electrifying 7-4 victory.

Takeaways
Colorado made this game more difficult than they had to at the beginning. They dominated puck possession for the entirety of the game, but Toronto made them pay for their mistakes. Yes, there were defensive lapses and avertible stumbles, but a key part of a championship-caliber team is fighting through vicissitude and still finding a way to come out on top. Do Avs’ fans remember “Find A Way?” Get ready for another rendition. This was another fantastic victory.
Next Game
The Avalanche return to Ball Arena on Monday to face Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. local time. ...

Read Full Article.