Of all the ways to head into the Olympic break, this seemed like the best-case scenario for the Avs. After preaching ending this stretch of games on a high note heading into the break, they managed to do just that, taking a 4-2 win over the San Jose Sharks, who are continuing their battle for a playoff spot.
After saying on Monday that Martin Necas would be “hopeful” to play tonight, Coach Jared Bednar confirmed this morning that he was ultimately going to be a scratch, along with captain Gabe Landeskog. He made sure to mention he’s confident they’ll be good to go to represent their respective countries (Czechia and Sweden) in Milan in a week.
Mackenzie Blackwood got his third consecutive start in net tonight, facing Yaroslav Askarov for the Sharks on the other side of the ice.
Things didn’t really get going in this game until the second period.
But when it got going… There was some heat.
And by heat, I mostly mean chaos.
Artturi Lehkonen gets a stick on a puck somewhere amidst a slurry of players crowding the crease to find the back of the net first here at Ball Arena.
Then he scores AGAIN (!!!) with just over four minutes remaining in the second, capitalizing on an unmarked opportunity in front of Yaroslav Askarov, who had been stellar on the night so far, and still continued to be after this goal.
The Sharks kind of ran the show in the third period – or for the first part of it, anyway. Timothy Liljegren scored just 43 seconds in to break Mackenzie Blackwood’s shutout bid.
Philipp Kurashev was able to capitalize on a breakaway opportunity to tie things at two just three minutes later.
After the halfway point, the Avs got going again. Josh Manson fired a laser of a shot that made it through a screen in front of Yaroslav Askarov to find the lead again, a goal that ultimately won the game for the Avs. Brock Nelson buried an empty-net shot to cushion the lead and finish this game off 4-2.
700 career assists for Nathan MacKinnon
Per the NHL live updates page:
“Nathan MacKinnon (0-1—1) collected a primary helper on Colorado’s second goal to become the second player in franchise history to reach the 700-assist milestone, alongside Joe Sakic (1,016).”
This made him the third-fastest active player in the league to reach the 700 assist mark, at 924 GP, coming in behind Connor McDavid (699 GP) and Sidney Crosby (856 PG).
