The St. Louis Blues traveled to Denver, Colorado, to take on the Colorado Avalanche for the first time this season. The Avalanche had not been playing very well in January, but a four-goal first period helped them look like an entirely new team on home ice, leading to a 5-0 victory.
Game Recap
Five minutes in, Juuso Parssinen tracked down Keaton Middleton’s shot and centered it. However, the puck got tipped up in the air, and Jonathan Drouin tracked the puck and swatted it mid-air into the net to make it 1-0. Martin Necas, just three minutes later, flying right down the middle of the ice, rifled a wrist shot that beat Joel Hofer to double the lead and secure his first goal as an Avalanche.
With six minutes left in the period, Robert Thomas hooked Nathan MacKinnon, sending them to the power play. Drouin scored his second goal when the Blues tried to clear the puck off a MacKinnon shot, but Drouin again tracked it off the false clear and scored to make it 3-0.
The first period was very physical, with lots of hard checks. This continued when Josh Manson threw a big hit on Dylan Holloway. Brayden Schenn took issue with it and got called for roughing with three minutes left in the period; Jim Montgomery was visibly upset about the call. The Avalanche once again capitalized on the power play, as Cale Makar sent a wrister from the blue line, beating everyone to make it 4-0.
Four minutes into the period, Middleton took a slashing penalty, sending the Blues to their first power play of the game, but the Avalanche defended it well. On a breakaway, MacKinnon tried to make it 5-0, but Hofer played the attack well, limiting MacKinnon’s opportunities on the rush and blocking his shot off the backhand.
The Blues were much more aggressive in the second period, generating a lot of scoring chances. With one minute left in the period, Alexandre Texier was called for a high stick, sending the Avalanche to their third power play of the game. Cale Makar made a great sliding block during a 2-on-1 by the Blues right before the period ended.
MacKinnon rang a one-timer off the post early in the third period with time remaining on the power play. The power play came to an end with zero shots on goal. Joel Kiviranta took a slashing penalty as he tried to prevent a 2-on-1 scoring chance, sending the Blues to their second power play of the game. Still, the Blues couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity.
The Avalanche got another power play when Jake Neighbours tripped Sam Malinski, but they couldn’t score on the power play either. Shortly after, Kiviranta scored his 11th goal of the season as he chased down a loose puck from the faceoff and buried it. The game continued; the Blues pulled their goalie to try and break the shutout, and time ended, closing the game 5-0.
Both teams are back in action on Sunday night. The Avalanche will host the Philadelphia Flyers, and the Blues will travel to Utah to face the Utah Hockey Club.
