Recap: Avs score three in the third to defeat Jets on New Year’s Eve

1 week ago  /  Mile High Hockey

Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images


The Avalanche have won a season-high five straight games. Happy New Year, Avalanche fans!
The Colorado Avalanche won their fifth in a row and their ninth in their past 11 games with a 5-2 win Tuesday night at Ball Arena.
Casey Mittelstadt was credited with the game-winning goal, his first in 19 games. He made it a 3-2 game by re-directing a shot from Josh Manson, who had a pair of assists, before Colorado scored a pair of empty-net goals to deliver the coup de grace.
The Jets played back-to-back games and didn’t start 2024 Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck, but backup Eric Comrie put on a show in his place. The scoreboard suggested a one-sided game, but Comrie made some beautiful saves throughout the contest to give his team a fighting chance. He finished with 33 saves, while Mackenzie Blackwood, who signed an extension Friday to remain with the Avalanche through the 2029-30 season, had 20 saves.
Valeri Nichushkin did not come out out for the third period after he took a solid hit against the boards from Winnipeg’s Logan Stanley. The Avs ruled he was out with a lower-body injury.
First Period
Colorado struck first when Artturi Lehkonen redirected a shot from Josh Manson at 11:51 Logan Stanley knocked Lehkonen down to the ice but was too late, as Lehkonen still managed to get his stick on the shot. Sam Girard also drew an assist on the play. That was Lehkonen’s 14th goal in 26 games this season, and fourth in the last two games after a hat trick in Salt Lake City last Friday.
Second Period
The Jets’ fourth line then came through with a goal. Neal Pionk got things going with a great stretch pass before Morgan Barron found Rasmus Kupari, who beat Mackenzie Blackwood at 10:20. The marker was Kupari’s third goal of the season.
Devon Toews scored his first goal in over a month when he capitalized on a garbage goal, but it was the way he did it that had fans scratching their heads. He fanned on the initial shot, which caught Comrie off guard and put him out of position. As a result, Toews got a second chance to redeem himself and still was not at a great angle, but managed to make just enough contact for the puck to trickle through the legs of Comrie to give Colorado a 2-1 lead.
Gabe Vilardi tied the game late in the period. Stanley’s attempt to get the puck to the front of the net was deflected in the air. However, Vilardi was basically given a free shot at the puck after Sam Malinski was completely out of position and nowhere close to making a play against Vilardi, who had a “thank you very much play” to nod it all up.
Third Period
Following a nip and tuck second frame, Colorado closed the show in style with goals from Mittelstadt, and a pair of empty-net goals from Mikko Rantanen and Ross Colton.

Takeaways
It’s a great time to be an Avalanche fan. The organization has learned from its past mistakes and will likely never go cheap on goaltending again. Moving past that, this was a great game. Even when we got sloppy, the team never stopped fighting and continued to push through. Case in point: the Toews goal. That shouldn’t have gone in. Was it lucky? Sure, but if Toews lost focus after fanning on the first shot, there’s a chance that puck doesn’t get by Comrie.
We certainly hope Nichushkin isn’t injured too badly. Recent statistics show the team doesn’t fare too well without him, but even if he is out for a bit, our recent acquisitions should be more than enough to help fill the void. But the best case scenario would be for Nichushkin to be okay. He also appeared to get elbowed in the head as well by Stanley, which could explain why he was giving the refs so much grief on his way out.
All in all, a great night for Colorado.
Upcoming
The Avalanche (23-15) take on the Buffalo Sabers (14-20-4) Thursday night at Ball Arena. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. local time....

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