Recap: Avalanche fight tooth and nail for exhilarating Edmonton win

1 week ago  /  Mile High Hockey

Photo by Leila Devlin/Getty Images


Back-and-forth hockey at its finest between two high-scoring teams! Might as well leave it all out there despite playing 24 hours ago, eh?
That’s what the Colorado Avalanche did in its Friday night matchup against the Edmonton Oilers. After playing last night against the Calgary Flames in a 4-2 win, Colorado had its work cut out for them against Connor McDavid and the hosting Oilers.
They fought all night long, going at it on both ends of the ice with five goals in the first period. But it would be Colorado coming out on top 5-4 with another two big points. Here’s how it all went down!
First Period
Colorado started off strong on both sides of the ice, creating chances, getting saves, and blocking shots. One in particular stung Sam Malinski, but he was just fine and carried on.
Before you it, it was raining goals in Edmonton. Malinski drew a hooking penalty on Zach Hyman, where Nathan MacKinnon fooled everyone with his shot on the ice to grab the lead.


Nathan MacKinnon fools everyone for the goal! #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/Hq3IsA17XB— Mile High Hockey (@MileHighHockey) February 8, 2025




Artturi Lehkonen headed to the box for hooking himself, and Leon Draisaitl only needed six seconds. Off the draw, he beat Mackenzie Blackwood and evened the game up.


LE N #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/N6G9BIpjoj— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) February 8, 2025




But MacKinnon wasn’t done there. In fact, he was far from done. He found Cale Makar streaking in on the far side and dished it off to him brilliantly, where he went between the body of Stuart Skinner to restore the advantage.


Cale Makar’s goal > Corey Perry’s goal #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/WqYlq4LCkQ— Mile High Hockey (@MileHighHockey) February 8, 2025




Again though, the Oilers had a response. Less than a minute later, Corey Perry was left alone in front and managed to clean up the rebound and again, bring the score level to two.


Corey-qualizer ✔️ #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/wIlUbEqHIk— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) February 8, 2025




MacKinnon nearly scored his second of the night, but Skinner just fought it off. Going the other way, his compadre McDavid found himself in all alone, but Blackwood did enough to stop him too.
Neither would find the net next, but MacKinnon continued to drive the offense forward. Again he fed an exquisite pass to Lehkonen in front to get his third point of the period and give his team the lead for a third time.


A-B-C, it’s easy as 1-2-3 #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/NZFwSsr1tQ— Mile High Hockey (@MileHighHockey) February 8, 2025




Makar nearly made it four in the final seconds when Martin Necas lobbed a pass in, but again Skinner fought it off with his glove. It was fire wagon hockey at its finest in the opening 20 minutes, still with plenty more seemingly left in the tank for both sides.
Second Period
The action commenced in the Oilers' end when Drasaitl was frustrated with an early tripping call. It came in front of what was a new netminder, as Calvin Pickard entered the game in relief of Skinner.
While Colorado couldn’t score on the power play, Logan O’Connor had a golden opportunity with a gaping net and Pickard down and out. He whiffed on his shot but did make up for it helping kill off a Parker Kelly tripping call.
Kelly would be a factor shorthanded as well. When Necas went off for high-sticking, Kelly snagged a drop pass and found Makar streaking in with him shorthanded and doubled the visitor's lead with his second of the game.


Parker Kelly and Cale Makar say thank you very much! #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/qM82yDNju7— Mile High Hockey (@MileHighHockey) February 8, 2025




But on the same power play Edmonton had, they would get the goal back. Perry would get his second goal of the game himself with a scramble in front of Blackwood which managed to get through him.


Perry PPG #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/QDUzHfAggC— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) February 8, 2025




Three more penalties came between the next goal of the game, coming in a 4-on-4 situation with Evan Bouchard and Juuso Parssinen in the box for matching penalties. Drasaitl would get his second of the game from his knees on a second effort to once again tie it up.


4️⃣0️⃣‼️ #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/nCi7iRsAsC— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) February 8, 2025




Darnell Nurse would be busy in the closing minutes, throwing a big hit on LOC and taking a tripping penalty on Jack Drury. His trip looked somewhat like a slide tackle in soccer, which upset Keaton Middleton and caused a little scurry. It led to nothing in the end, and Colorado looked to take advantage of the extra man to open the final frame.
Third Period
After Nurse’s penalty was killed off, Colorado had another phenomenal opportunity when Bouchard went off for roughing, and then Ryan Nugent-Hopkins moments later for hooking MacKinnon. But 1:24 of 5-on-3 ice time wasn’t enough for Colorado to convert.
Edmonton looked alive and ready to charge ahead for the go-ahead goal, but both teams then got into the mud. They used up all their stuff in the first two periods, and it looked difficult for anyone to get it going.
Except if your name is MacKinnon.
He drove ahead on a 2-on-1 with Joel Kiviranta but didn’t manage to score. He did pluck out his own rebound though and found Necas in front, who squeezed it past Pickard. It was enough for the Avalanche to escape Edmonton with a thrilling 5-4 win.


It’s a Marty Party this Friday night! #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/Rcme0zBNHT— Mile High Hockey (@MileHighHockey) February 8, 2025




Takeaways
Special teams continued to play an important factor in this one for the Avalanche. They managed to score early on in their first one with MacKinnon, but then couldn’t do much outside of it. They ended the night 1-for-5 with the extra man. One particular moment in the third period with an extended two-man advantage was one where the visitors would like back and wish they’d taken advantage of. Granted, the power play has been much better since the arrival of Necas.
On the other end, Colorado gave up too many power play chances to one of the most dangerous power play units in the entire league. Edmonton ended the night 2-for-4, and it certainly could’ve been more. They did make them pay with the shorthanded goal, however. It made up what just was all of the chaos of the evening in Edmonton.
This second leg of the back-to-back was certainly a challenging way to end this part of the road trip for Colorado. After dropping the first game in Vancouver, it was imperative to get these two wins and they did just that. MacKinnon finished this game with a goal and three assists, with seven total points in the last two games. Makar had two goals of his own alongside an assist, and Necas came up clutch.
Heading into this two-week break, the Avalanche have a record of 33-22-2. It’s been a tumultuous season full of ups and downs, with faces coming and going along the way. Compared to previous years at the then-NHL All-Star break, they were 32-14-3 last season, 27-18-3 in 2022-23, and 32-8-4 in 2021-22. It’s pretty remarkable how this season has the most wins out of the three, but it is glaring how percentage-wise it is the worst of the three. Nonetheless, it’s a break most of the Avalanche squad needs and will take advantage of to get healthy, relax, and play for an international trophy.
Upcoming
The next Avalanche game is in two weeks on February 22, against the Nashville Predators. It is the first of yet another back-to-back for the Avalanche, and the puck drops at 4:00 p.m. MT.
Why the long break you may ask? Rather than a regular NHL All-Star Game break, the best of the best will compete in the Four Nations Face-Off between the United States, Canada, Finland, and Sweden. Four participants from Colorado will be in the running, three from Canada (MacKinnon, Makar, Toews), and one from Finland (Lehkonen).
The first game comes on February 12 when Canada faces Sweden at 6:00 p.m. MT, and Finland will see its first action against the US on February 13 at 6:00 p.m. MT....

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