When it felt like the Avalanche were headed for another disappointing loss, the stars woke up and put their stamp on a third-period comeback.
Colorado trailed by two on Wednesday but got goals from Cale Makar and Martin Necas to come from behind and defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 in the shootout. Necas’ game-tying goal came with 10 seconds remaining in regulation.
Both Nathan MacKinnon and Artturi Lehkonen scored in the shootout for the Avs, who improved to 47-26-4 on the season.
The biggest concern coming out of this game is the health of Jonathan Drouin. Colorado’s top-six winger suffered a lower-body injury in the first period. He didn’t miss a shift until the break, but did not return for the second before the team eventually ruled out a return.
Drouin has missed 32 games this year, recovering from two separate injuries that each kept him out for 16 games. Jared Bednar did not have an update postgame. Drouin still needs to get evaluated.
Early in the first period, Sam Malinski and the Avs thought they had the first goal, but it was called back following a coach’s challenge for offside.
That was all Colorado could get past goalie Spencer Knight until midway through the third period.
Chicago eventually got on the board first. With the Avs on the power play, Ilya Mikheyev scored his third shorthanded tally of the season to make it 1-0. The Blackhawks successfully killed off four Avalanche power plays throughout the night. Colorado countered by going 3-for-3 on the PK.
In the second, Connor Murphy tallied his second of the year, putting the Blackhawks up 2-0. The Avs had started that period well, but coasted as it went on.
They came out strong in the third and began to take control. First, Makar skated into the circle and got a pass from MacKinnon and fired it past Knight. Then, after killing two penalties later in the third, the Avs pulled their goalie and completed the comeback.
Makar shot it from the point, and the puck was redirected by both Brock Nelson and Necas before hitting the back of the net.
Neither team generated much in OT before the shootout.
In a somewhat surprising decision, Scott Wedgewood was back in goal for the Avs. He was backed up by Kevin Mandolese, who was called up from the AHL’s Colorado Eagles earlier in the day. It’s unclear if Mackenzie Blackwood will be available for Thursday’s back-to-back in Columbus.
Good: The Martin Necas Scare
When the Avs were down in the third, and already missing Drouin, Necas suffered what appeared to be a neck or head injury after colliding with a player in the Avalanche’s crease. Necas had turned the puck over and was coming back to make a play.
He stayed down for a bit before being helped to the locker room. Necas ended up returning and obviously played a big part in the comeback. It’s an injury the Avs could do without. Let’s hope there aren’t any lingering effects on Thursday.
Bad: Don’t Let These Last Few Games Get Out of Hand
Bednar has said time and time again over the past few days that positioning in the standings is still in play. Sure, home-ice advantage in the first round is pretty much unattainable, but that’s not all the team is fighting for. The higher you finish in the league standings, the better opportunity you have for home-ice advantage in later rounds.
Basically, the Avalanche can’t let these last few games get out of hand. They can’t let all these other teams pass them in the standings because they’re playing unserious hockey against Chicago. You still might face one of these clubs later on.
As things currently stand, Colorado is seventh in the league with 96 points in 76 games. If all goes well, the Avs could finish as high as fourth, which would put them behind only Washington, Winnipeg, and Dallas.
But if things go the other way, the Avalanche could realistically fall as low as ninth or tenth, and likely have no shot at home-ice advantage in any round this year, barring an upset.
