Unexpected star emerges in Avalanche's fourth consecutive victory

Life comes at you fast.

There is no place where this is truer than the world of sports, where a career’s accomplishments mean nothing on any given night and you allow yourself to believe in the possibility of seeing something you don’t expect.

Such was the case tonight when the Avalanche made a stop in Toronto to take on the Maple Leafs for the second time in two weeks.

Entering the Toronto game in Denver, Valeri Nichushkin hadn’t scored in 91 straight NHL games dating back to 2016. It was a running question when the streak was going to end.

In the third period of a 4-2 game, Nichushkin ended the streak and looked like Atlas handing the earth to someone else. He was free.

And ever since, he’s played like a man unleashed. Tonight, he was arguably Colorado’s best player throughout a tightly contested game but made the difference in the third period when he crashed the circus at the blueline on Toronto’s power play and went the length of the ice for the first short-handed goal of his career.

Yes, Colorado’s game-winning goal was a short-handed goal by Valeri Nichushkin.

When you’re hot, you’re hot, eh?

And with the 3-1 win tonight, Colorado is now on a four-game winning streak, their second time this season on a run at least that long.

Given Colorado and Toronto are known primarily for their offensive flair, it ended up being a showdown between Philipp Grubauer and Frederik Andersen to see who could make the extra save.

It ended up being Grubauer but you have to give Andersen tons of credit tonight for wanting to play the second night in a row after he got shelled last night against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Grubauer’s performance won’t necessitate any such theatrics tomorrow as the Avs head to Montreal to take on the Canadiens and the expectation is Pavel Francouz will get the start.

Nathan MacKinnon got Colorado on the board in the second period when he rocketed his patented wrist shot past Andersen for his 18th goal of the year and he added an assist in the waning moments when he helped get the puck out of the defensive zone and it ended in a Joonas Donskoi empty-net goal.

Colorado’s stars were quieter on the whole after a flashy week of dominance but all of MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Cale Makar still registered points in this one.

In what turned out to be a low-scoring battle, each team generated a goal from their depth line and it was Grubauer’s ability to shut the door on Toronto’s stars that made the difference.

GAME TAKEAWAYS

• I haven’t mentioned it much but something I’ve really been noticing a lot more is the defensive play of MacKinnon. He’s been getting back hard and taking care of his zone in a way we’re not accustomed to seeing from him. If he starts to get the defensive details down on a consistent basis and give an honest, consistent effort on that end of the ice, Colorado could have even more of a superstar on their hands than they realized.
• I don’t expect anyone to confuse MacKinnon with Patrice Bergeron or anything but it almost looks like a breakthrough of some kind is happening on that end of the ice for MacKinnon. He’s spent the last three years matching against the best the opposition has to offer and I wonder if, now that he’s mastered his dominance offensively, he’s moved on to attacking the defensive shortcomings in his game. An exciting proposition for a guy who insists on succeeding at a very high level at everything he does.
• Matt Calvert wasted absolutely no time in finding ways to contribute upon his return. In his absence, running mate Pierre-Edouard Bellemare certainly lacked the same impact we saw from him early in the season but as soon as Calvert got back out there, they started tilting the ice. Literally their first shift of the game they took the puck out of their own end, transitioned flawlessly and ended up creating a scoring chance. To the eye, that was easily the best line for the Avs tonight. Based on the numbers, it still was. 13 shots on goal for, just even against when Calvert was on the ice. And he even added an assist on the empty-net goal. I’ve referred to him previously as a grown-up Dennis the Menace and I stand by it. He is the bringer of chaos to opposing teams.
• We talked on yesterday’s podcast about Grubauer slowly letting his game slip ever so slightly and the team needing him to really step up. He did exactly that tonight and it was a good reminder how hard this club is to beat when he is playing well. The offensive was solid and the defense did a good job of bending and not breaking.
• A rough night for Makar defensively as he wasn’t very good with the puck. His breakouts weren’t as clean as we’ve seen and his decisions were just a little on the slow side. He’s certainly played better.
• Have to say, loved Nikita Zadorov tonight. I thought he was really good in his own end and when he’s activating offense, he’s a handful for opposing teams. His willingness to skate pucks out of the defensive zone and just make an efficient decision added an extra dynamic layer.
• Sam Girard. Good to see him back to normal.
• Valeri Nichushkin with a SHG to win the game. What a world.