Welcome back, hockey!

And I don’t mean that weird exhibition game against Minnesota that was like snacking on kettle chips while waiting for Thanksgiving dinner to finally hit the table.

This was the real thing. Hockey that meant something, that actually counted.

The Avs used all 59 minutes and 59.9 seconds available to them to top the St. Louis Blues in a heartstopping 2-1 victory over the defending Stanley Cup champions.

Nazem Kadri’s rebound goal with .1 seconds remaining on the clock is the latest goal in NHL history and the kind of buzzer-beater you may never see again in the NHL. When Gabe Landeskog ripped a one-timer off the post, the puck fell to Kadri and he slammed it home just in the nick of time.

Everything about the goal is remarkable but even in his own words, Kadri knew he was running short on time when the puck landed in front of him.

“I was aware,” Kadri said of the clock ticking down. “Not quite down to the decimal point but I knew there wasn’t much time left. I just saw an opportunity and felt like maybe, it was Gabe or Mikko with the one-time shot, that might be an opportunity. I didn’t hear the buzzer and just tried to stay on top of the puck and luckily it worked out.”

In that casually dismissive hockey player tone (“luckily it worked out”), Kadri played it coy but the goal was every bit the shocking finish one could imagine. When watching the replay, it sure looked in but close enough to give everyone pause.

“I think it was pretty close,” Kadri said. “I knew it hit the back of the net before the buzzer went off but I wasn’t quite sure if the buzzer was late or what was going on there. Obviously, it was pretty tight.”

Colorado’s game-winning goal came on the power play, their fifth attempt of the evening and by far the most impressive.

“It was a bit of an extended power play shift there but we felt like we had possession, we had pressure,” Kadri said. “Relentless effort by the guys. I felt like I probably should have had one earlier that I kind of whiffed on but it was nice to get it back.”

Kadri had whiffed on a golden scoring chance about 30 seconds earlier but made no mistake on his second opportunity, much to the chagrin of the Blues, who were plenty fortunate to even be in that spot after getting outplayed much of the game.

The Blues led 1-0 after the first period thanks to a David Perron one-timer that was perfectly placed over Philipp Grubauer’s shoulder. The Blues were outshot 16-4 in the period and maintained that lead throughout much of the game thanks to the stout effort of goaltender Jordan Binnington.

“I thought their goalie played well,” Kadri said. “We had an outstanding first period, set the tone. They’re a good team and that’s what good teams do: they find a way to stay in hockey games. We felt we could apply some pressure at the end and we play to the last whistle and that’s the reason why.”

It would have been easy for the Avs to get down on themselves after such a strong period of hockey only to be trailing on the scoreboard. The leadership group in the Avs’ locker room sent a message of calm after the period as they tried to refocus on the task at hand and not get too discouraged by temporary results.

“Stay motivated,” Kadri said was the message after the first period. “I think we definitely showed some maturity there. If we’re going to make a run deep in the postseason we have to keep our composure and have that patience and not let a game slip away from you in one or two or three shifts. I was really proud of the guys for sticking in there and battling back. Grubi bounced back and played outstanding and made some huge stops for us at the end and special teams ended up winning it.”

Grubauer slammed the door shut after the Perron goal and ended up making 31 saves on 32 shots and took a step forward in the ongoing goaltender battle. His performance ups the ante for what Pavel Francouz will have to do in order to keep this competition going.

Colorado’s comeback began with a Ryan Graves goal early in the third period that opened the floodgates for both teams as they began trading scoring chances up and down the ice. That the Avs managed a comeback against this Blues team, the defending champs who excel at playing with a lead? Just gravy.

“It’d feel good to come back against anybody,” Kadri said. “That shows determination and commitment to the long-term process. I suppose it feels a little bit better against these guys, a division rival, a great team. We’re happy to get the win. That’s as close to a playoff win as you can get and that’s great preparation moving forward.”

The Blues were 27-0-6 during the regular season when entering the third period with a lead.

The Avs move to 1-0 in the round-robin stage with their second game slated for Wednesday afternoon against the Dallas Stars.

TAKEAWAYS

• I said in the weeks leading up to hockey returning that Nazem Kadri was going to be an x-factor for Colorado. The Avs didn’t really have a player of his caliber in the second-line center position last season and Kadri provided immediate returns. Not only did he score, but his line dominated possession at even strength and he had six shots on goal while linemate Gabe Landeskog had three. The two also combined for six hits (three each) and the Avs’ first attempt at their “shutdown” second line was a smashing success.
• The third guy on that line was Valeri Nichushkin, who failed to record a shot on goal but had three hits and played excellent defense. He had a backcheck in the third period that looked to be a decent odd-man rush for the Blues but he wrecked it by chasing down the puck carrier, throwing him into the wall, and creating an offside. That’s the kind of snarl the Avs didn’t have last season.
• Cale Makar looked rusty offensively but was no joke on defense as he engaged physically with Sammy Blais on multiple occasions and defended well overall. He led the Avs’ defense in ice time (largely due to PPTOI) and despite not scoring finished with four shots, three hits, and one blocked shot. He also made a great play in the final minute of regulation to knock a puck down and keep it in the zone to keep the attack going. We all know how that ended.
• I’m not sure what’s up with Andre Burakovsky but his poor play against Minnesota carried over to today and he even got pulled off the top line at times because of it. The Avs are going to need him to find that groove he was in during the regular season. They still have two games left before the first round begins so he has a couple days to figure it out but it needs to happen.
• Just going to say I loved the Cole-Zadorov pairing in this one. Everybody loves the big hits from Zadorov but he’s at his best when he’s playing a quieter game and still finding a way to rock dudes. He had three hits and Cole had the best shot metrics in the game. They didn’t play a lot at even strength because of the nine penalties between both teams but when they did they were damn good.
• Ryan Graves just keeps finding a way. He is such an impressive player and person.