Wow. What. A. Game.

The Colorado Avalanche knocked off the NHL’s top team, the Florida Panthers, 3-2 in a Sunday night thriller at Ball Arena.

This is the type of game that hockey junkies, like myself, live for. It was fast, physical, exciting, and both teams were executing.

The Avalanche handed the Cats just their fifth regulation loss of the season in what was easily the best, most exciting game of the season for the Avs from start to finish.

The two teams facing off tonight were the top two offensive teams in the NHL, so many expected a night filled with fireworks, and teams trading chances, and lots of goals. It started the exact opposite.

The first period was choppy and slow. It didn’t have a ton of flow, there were lots of whistles, and an ice issue that delayed the game for several minutes. When there was action on the ice, the goaltenders stole the show. 

Avalanche goaltender Darcy Kuemper, and Panthers’ netminder Sergei Bobrovsky matched each other save for save to keep the score even at zero. Both looked like they knew that they were going up against a strong structural team, and couldn’t give up much if they wanted to give their respective teams a chance.

After a scoreless first, this game really picked up. Let’s start with the one big negative from this game. 

Avalanche Defenseman Jacob MacDonald was on the receiving end of a massive, heavy hit from Ryan Lomberg. MacDonald curled out of the corner of his own zone to head up ice and was absolutely rocked by a forechecking Lomberg, and he never saw it coming.

Medical staff from both benches scrambled onto the ice, and a stretcher was brought over to help get him off the ice. It was a scary moment, and something you never want to see in any capacity. 

Thankfully, word was that MacDonald was up and walking around under his own power after the game. A huge sigh of relief, not in terms of the hockey, but for Jacob MacDonald the person. It could’ve been much worse.

After that play, however, the pace and the physicality really picked up. For a few minutes, that meant a little more sloppiness from both teams. Kurtis MacDermid went out and was absolutely running guys over for a shift or two. He tried to get Florida defenseman Radko Gudas to drop the gloves, but Gudas didn’t have any interest in throwing hands with the 6’5” MacDermid.

I don’t want to put too much stock in MacDermid being out there running into everything that moved, but no one can deny the energy it put back into the building and, seemingly, his team.

The Avs were flying around the ice, their game had a new sense of purpose. Honestly, I hadn’t seen them play with that type of urgency yet this season. Hell, Sam Girard straight up FLATTENED Carter Verhaeghe.

After really pushing the play for most of the second period, Andre Burakovsky finally broke the deadlock with just 43 seconds to go in the second period.

The third period got off to a great start, as the Avs extended their lead to 2-0 just two minutes in. Things looked like they were gonna be all gravy the rest of the way.

Then, the latest call-up, Mikhail Maltsev commented a penalty that drives coaches crazy. He was called for holding and gave the Panthers a chance to get back in the game.

They did.

That was Maltsev’s last shift of the game.

After pulling within one, the Panthers would add another just a few minutes later, and all the good feelings the Avs had going for them were at serious risk of disappearing.

And this is where you just have to love how the Avs responded. They didn’t slump their shoulders, they didn’t feel sorry for themselves, and they didn’t make excuses. They pushed right back.

And it was Andre Burakovsy again who turned out to be the hero, capping off his first career hat trick in spectacular fashion, and put the Avs ahead for good.

The rest of the way, it was the Darcy Kuemper show, making save after save, not giving up almost any rebounds, and just looking completely in control.

But even the star of the show needs help sometimes, and he got some from Erik Johnson as a scramble in the crease led to a puck squeaking through in behind the Avs’ netminder, but Johnson stuffed it back under Kuemper to get a whistle and preserve the lead.

It was such a fun game to watch, and it has to be a huge confidence booster for this team. Another tough task lays ahead though, as the New York Rangers come to town on Tuesday, in what should be another fun game between two top teams.

TAKEAWAYS

This was Kuemper’s best game as an Av, no doubt. The two goals he gave up, you can absolutely live with, and he was stellar in every other facet of the game. He looked confident and completely in control of his crease. He just gave off that calming energy, that gives teams a lot of confidence.

Burakovsky spent all of morning skate shooting the puck with Nathan MacKinnon. MacKinnon stopped at one point after Burakovsky had missed the net several times in a row. Obviously, I couldn’t hear what exactly was said, but MacK appeared to tell Burky that he needed to stop just shooting as hard as he could, with no real purpose. It was great to see him get rewarded tonight, Burakovsky is someone who thrives on confidence, and it could go a long way after a night like tonight.

The hit on MacDonald was really scary. Seeing it live, it was hard to tell what the of hit it was. From the replays I’ve seen, it looks to be clean. It’s just one of those hits that you hate to see but is a very real part of the game. The head contact appeared to be minimal, and Lomberg appeared to stop taking strides well before contact. Either way, players being taken off on stretchers isn’t good for anybody. You just hope that MacDonald is ok, and can get back on the ice sooner rather than later.

Nicolas Aubé-Kubel dropped the gloves immediately in response to the hit on MacDonald. This is one of the instances where I think fighting still has a place in the game. Not because I wanted to see Lomberg get hurt or anything, but it’s more that NAK was standing up for his team and teammates, and letting other players know that you can’t just make runs at guys and get away with it. Loved the response.

This was the Avs’ most complete effort. Those were two heavyweights and Colorado sent a message that they are absolutely Stanley Cup contenders.