Recap: Avs grind out second straight win vs. feisty Canucks team

9 months ago  /  Mile High Hockey

Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images


Nathan MacKinnon extended his home point streak as the Avs took down the Canucks 3-1. With NBA Champ and two-time league MVP Nikola Jokic in the building, the Colorado Avalanche looked to finish their brief two-game homestand with another win as they faced the league-leading Vancouver Canucks. Despite the Canucks having played on Monday in a crazy 10-7 affair against the Minnesota Wild they gave the Avalanche a hard fight as both teams battled for the much-needed two points.
Recap
The Avalanche came out with all the intensity you could want from them after their hard-fought win against the Arizona Coyotes two days ago. All four lines spent significant portions of the first half of the initial frame in the Vancouver zone but none could break through Thatcher Demko.
As the first wore on Vancouver found their legs in the game and cycled the Avs heavily. They didn’t convert on any of their chances off the cycle but they were able to strike with a goal off the rush, one of the few things they have seldom done this season.
It was a quick regroup from Vancouver as they moved the puck through the middle of the neutral zone with little resistance until Brock Boeser snuck a pass behind Jack Johnson and Jonathan Drouin for J.T. Miller who had snuck past the Avs's last line of defense. Miller potted his 28th goal of the season with a nice shot under Alexandar Georgiev’s glove to give the Canucks the lead.
The remainder of the first period was fast-paced but both teams struggled to test the opposing goaltenders, which allowed the score to remain 1-0 as they went into the dressing rooms for the first break.
Vancouver had much more energy than the Avs likely anticipated coming into the game and continued to cycle in the Avalanche zone effectively when the two teams returned for the second period. But this time it was the Avs who struck after being on their heels to start the period.
Joel Kiviratna kicked off the goalscoring play with a pretty cookie-cutter pass to the point where Devon Toews barely collected the puck before zipping it across the blueline to Jack Johnson. After collecting two points last game against Arizona Johnson got another when he fired a puck that went wide, perhaps intentionally, and Ryan Johansen flipped a backhander in the net before Demko could cover his post. It was Johansen’s first goal since December 29, 2023 and it was a big one.


No. 12 gets us on the board!#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/EeBdd6u2hE— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) February 21, 2024




Similar to the first period both teams struggled to generate much at 5v5 thanks to staunch defense from the opposition. However, the Avalanche did get a few powerplay opportunities that had quality to spare, the same could not be said for goals as they went o-fer yet again.
For the third game in a row, the Avalanche entered the third period tied with their opponent.
After the defensive battle the game was up to this point you wouldn’t be alone if you expected the third period to go down to the wire and for the decider to come in the dying minutes. Fortunately for the hearts of many that was in fact not the case.
Barely ninety seconds into the third period the Avs third line struck again, or more specifically, Ryan Johansen struck again. This goal was kicked off by a strong forecheck from Bowen Byram, who didn’t get a point on the play but did play a major role in it. His pressure in the corner allowed the puck to kick out to Zach Parise at the bottom of the circle and with Byram in the corner, Ryan Johansen was at the point, covering for his defensemen. Parise made a surprisingly easy cross-zone pass to Johansen who fired a floater from the point that snuck past Demko’s glove, with some help from Ian Cole’s glove, to break the deadlock early.


RyJo with the go-ahead goal!#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/GseX2rQTCw— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) February 21, 2024




Things got scary for the Avs after the Johansen goal as the Canucks pushed back hard, desperate to salvage any points from this back-to-back series they were in. They had a plethora of chances and created some chaos in front of the Avs net, narrowly tying the game twice. Emphasis on the narrowly as Alexandar Georgiev made big save after big save in the clutch to keep the Avs in front.


Not in Georgie's jungle ❌#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/HXCQedbyGe— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) February 21, 2024




Eventually, the Avs pushed back and got some pressure of their own as the Canucks legs began to tire but now without having to kill a penalty in the final six minutes of the game, thanks largely to a big individual effort from Sam Girard in the dying seconds of the kill to clear the puck.
Artturi Lehkonen would seal the game with an empty net goal with an assist from Nathan MacKinnon, who extended his home point streak to 27 games, and another from Mikko Rantanen.
Takeaways
I wasn’t totally in love with the process from the Avalanche tonight, but against good teams sometimes all that matters is the result.
Artturi Lehkonen, Nathan MacKinnon, and Mikko Rantanen all combined for the empty net goal, and it would be safe to say they were probably the Avs’ three best forwards tonight, despite those being their only points. They were the only consistent offensive threats to the Canucks and probably deserved to have their share of goals on Demko.
Ryan Johansen played a solid game and got two big goals to give the Avalanche this win. Despite the top line's efforts, they couldn’t find the scoresheet and that’s where Johansen filled in. It’s likely too little too late for Johansen in Colorado but that’s what a second-line center is supposed to do. Pick up the slack when the top guys can’t find the net. Johansen did just that and it’s hard not to be happy for the dude despite what you may think of him as a player.
On the backend, I liked the play from most of the Avs defensemen tonight. Cale Makar and Devon Toews had a great bounceback game after they struggled in the team’s most recent outings. Cale didn’t find the scoresheet tonight but he was a big boon on both ends in this game. Sam Girard and Josh Manson also bounced back, with Girard stealing the show with his aforementioned play on the penalty kill. Bowen Byram continues to perform and probably deserved some points tonight but was still effective nonetheless. His partner, Jack Johnson, was probably the Avs’ worst defenseman tonight by a large margin but still found his way to an assist.
Alexandar Georgiev had one of his better games of the season tonight. Against a high-powered offensive team with ridiculous shooting numbers, he posted a .960 and limited the Canucks to one goal. It wasn’t an easy workload for him either. He made some big saves in the third period when the Canucks made their big push and showed up big for the Avalanche. Another game for him to build off of going forward.
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The Avalanche head out east for a one-game trip to Detroit where they face their old rivals the Red Wings. The puck drops Thursday at 5:00 p.m. MT, Mile High Hockey will have you covered....

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