Hot start continues for Avalanche in 3-1 win over Hurricanes

The Colorado Avalanche headed out east this week on a challenging four-game road trip that would test their mettle early on following a disappointing home loss to the Calgary Flames. They responded with an uneven game against the New York Rangers that saw them salvage a point in a shootout loss and then they became the first team to beat the New Jersey Devils this season.

But in a matinee contest against the Carolina Hurricanes, the Avalanche were dealing with something else entirely. The Canes have started this season white-hot in leading the league by averaging 42 (!!) shots per game coming into today’s game. Not only has the offensive onslaught been impressive, but Carolina has also excelled with their shot suppression.

They presented a whole different bag of chips for the Avalanche and the first period really showed why the Hurricanes have been such a handful for other teams as they fired any and all pucks on goaltender Philipp Grubauer. At even strength, Carolina peppered the Avs with 22 shot attempts (10 on goal) compared to just nine (with two on goal) for Colorado.

And none of it really mattered because Gabriel Landeskog continued his absurd hot streak when he beat Curtis McElhinney with a slick short-side wrister that gave the Avalanche a 1-0 lead heading into the first intermission. It wasn’t a highlight reel goal like some of his ridiculous goals against the Devils two days ago when he recorded his third career hat trick but it counted all the same.

The second period saw Colorado really dig their heels in and find their footing in the game, meaning the pace slowed way down and each team had to work to grind out scoring attempts as the Avalanche defense ratcheted up the pressure. The Avalanche have made an art form of winning games in which they’ve been outplayed in recent years and they looked mighty comfortable again in this one as the Hurricanes gave them the slightest opportunity and Colorado capitalized.

Landeskog scored his fifth goal in two games when he tried to make a cross-ice pass to Mikko Rantanen but it was blocked and landed right on Landeskog’s stick and the net happened to be mostly empty as McElhinney read the pass and had already slid across his crease. The goal put Colorado up 2-0 and the Avs put themselves into cruise control from there.

The third period saw the Avalanche play a classic “protect the lead” style as they gave up plenty of shots but locked down the scoring chances and high-danger opportunities against. In a mostly flow-less final frame, the Avs bled the clock and added an insurance goal when Nathan MacKinnon rocketed a wrister top shelf for a 3-0 lead with just over three minutes remaining in the game.

Carolina responded with a goal of their own less than a minute later as Michael Ferland banged home a centering pass from behind the net to break up Grubauer’s bid for the shutout. A fireworks-filled final few minutes ended up not mattering all that much and Colorado walked out of Raleigh with the coveted two points.

Both Rantanen and MacKinnon continued their scoring streaks as MacKinnon put up three points (1g, 2a) and Rantanen snuck in a secondary assist on MacKinnon’s late-game goal. Both players are among the league leaders in scoring.