Avs-Blackhawks Game 61 Studs & Duds

Studs

Nathan MacKinnon

MacKinnon was great again tonight, flying all over the place and finishing the game with a goal and an assist, pushing him to 100 points this season. He becomes the first player in Colorado Avalanche history to record back-to-back 100-point seasons, which is pretty wild to think about.

His dominance this season has been so special that it’s almost casual to witness at this point. He wasn’t the primary reason the Avalanche built the lead they did, but he was the hammer that nailed down the two points the Avalanche got in the standings with this win.

MacKinnon’s speed and tenacity were clearly too much for the overmatched Blackhawks to deal with and his goal that made it 5-0 late in the third period was more for good feels than anything else and had us scrambling to finish that 100-point graphic when we thought we might be in the clear. Well played, Nate.

Zach Parise

Parise’s tryhard playstyle has been a welcome fit in Colorado and while his role has been a bit in flux as Jared Bednar has moved him around trying to find a home for him, you have to feel good about the early returns.

His skating is holding up nicely and his work ethic is as obnoxious as ever, only now it’s with the Avalanche sweater on. We saw him score two goals in classic Parise fashion tonight when he rocketed a cross-ice pass from Jack Johnson on an odd-man rush (!) and beat Petr Mrazek cleanly and the other was him going hard to the net and tapping home a nice play from Ryan Johansen (!!).

Parise finished with three points as he picked up an assist on Ross Colton’s power-play goal. That gives him six points in 12 games in an Avalanche sweater and his ice time is probably higher than the Avs would prefer with a healthy lineup but it is great to see that he can still beat up on the dregs of the NHL at age 39.

Justus Annunen

Fresh off a loss in Detroit last week where the team in front of him only gave him one goal of support, Annunen was just as good tonight. The Avs dominated the Blackhawks more thoroughly than the Red Wings (as you’d expect) but Annunen stood tall on the few scoring chances that Chicago generated.

He was especially good in the first period when Chicago had a 13-10 shot advantage and the Avs looked sloppy and disconnected until Parise’s goal woke them up. Annunen faced only 11 shots on goal the rest of the game but didn’t make a mess of them.

It’s a perfect night from the kid and allowing two goals in his last two starts is the kind of stabilizing performance from the backup that makes you wonder if he might actually get to start a game in Denver at some point this season (all five of Annunen’s starts have been on the road).

There are bigger questions about what the Avs want to do at the trade deadline and next season when Annunen loses his waiver eligibility, but those are tomorrow’s problems. For tonight, it was wonderful to see a Colorado-drafted goaltender get a shutout in the NHL.

Duds

Chris Wagner, fighter

The Avs played so well for much of this game that there isn’t a major sore spot to pick out from this game aside from the first ~15 minutes or so.

Unfortunately for Chris Wagner, that means his attempt at fighting gets a turn in this section because, ahhhhhhhh, it didn’t look like Wagner was much of a fighter and he got soundly beaten in a matter of seconds by Reese Johnson.

This is where I point out that was Wagner’s 21st first in the NHL/AHL but that it is also across 11 seasons. It seemed randomly placed but hey, good for Wagner, I suppose. This isn’t about him fighting and more that he did it so poorly.

He is now tied with noted pugilist Kurtis MacDermid for the number of fights in an Avs sweater this year. Cool cool cool cool cool cool

Unsung Hero

Mikko Rantanen

I loved Rantanen’s game. He only finished with one assist but he got it by using his moose-like frame to body a guy along the wall and find Devon Toews for a last-second goal in the second period.

Rantanen backchecked hard and played the kind of hockey that should have resulted in a multi-point night, especially when he rocketed a shot off the post earlier in the game. This is the kind of effort I constantly pine for from Rantanen that really showcases what an elite talent he can be when he is fully engaged and playing well.

No negativity from me tonight about Rantanen. He was very good.