The Avs continue to hold onto their point streak at home, but drop their season-best 17-game win streak at home to the Toronto Maple Leafs in overtime.
It’s game three of seven for this homestand at Ball Arena, and the Avs have won their first two.
The first goal of the night was a flukey way to start the scoring. Easton Cowan turns out of traffic and makes a pass to the middle, a pass that Brent Burns gets a stick on and mistakenly puts past Trent Miner, who started his second consecutive game tonight.
Cale Makar evened things up just five minutes later, though. Martin Necas, with some slick skating, sold Jake McCabe going one way while he went the other and found a moving Makar up the right side, who put it past Joseph Woll near-side.
Brock Nelson also kept the power play hot, and this one was spicy! Just five seconds in, Nathan MacKinnon finds Nelson in the middle, and Nelson rips a heck of a rocket past Woll for the lead.
A shaky second period from the Avs gave the Maple Leafs the lone goal of the period. Auston Matthews almost had one early in the period on a breakaway, but it’s a Bobby McMann breakaway that makes it past Miner to make things even going into the third period.
Auston Matthews converts early during a 4-on-4 opportunity halfway through the third.
Never fear, Martin Necas tied things back up just two and a half minutes later during some “Go Leafs Go” chants that broke out in the arena.
No one can get another to go, so overtime it is.
The Avs hold strong, including Miner, who is key for a lot of the continued possession they held onto in the first four minutes. It seemed like Nathan MacKinnon might’ve ended things early in the extra minutes, but it hits the post, and Toronto comes the other way, a rush the Avs were fortunate enough to get in front of. Unfortunately for Colorado, William Nylander landed the blow in the final minute with a snipe on an odd-man rush to get the win for Toronto.
4-3 final, Avs can’t overcome two comeback opportunities in the first and third period.
The top guys stepped up
Neither Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas, nor Cale Makar finished last game’s shutout win over Columbus with a point.
Tonight, they combined for seven. SEVEN.
MacKinnon assisted on the first three goals that the Avs scored in this game, one of which was a laser on the power play courtesy of Brock Nelson.
Necas, especially, looked exceptional tonight, connecting with Makar for the equalizer in the first period.
Brock Nelson on the power play???
Brock Nelson has tallied seven goals on the power play this season, eight counting tonight.
The most he’s tallied in a season is 11 in 72 games. He’s currently on pace to break that career-best, and with flying colors.
