A response was needed and a response was had.
Two consecutive losses is by no means a terrible streak but it was crucial for the Avalanche to break out of their slump. And in their third and final meeting against the Seattle Kraken, Colorado walked out of Climate Pledge Arena with a 5-1 victory to get back in the winning column.
The Avs’ recent stretch of poor play was magnified on Saturday when the team was blasted by head coach Jared Bednar in a rant-filled post-game press conference following an embarrassing 8-2 loss to St. Louis. Bednar called out his team’s lack of work ethic, two-way play and focus.
Each of those was a factor in Monday’s night’s come-from-behind victory. The Kraken scored first and thought they had a two-goal lead. But following a successful challenge for goaltender interference, Colorado woke up and took control. The final 40 minutes of action was among the best the team has looked all season long.
Mikko Rantanen, Ross Colton, Cale Makar, Jonathan Drouin and Valeri Nichushkin scored for the Avs, who gave up fewer than three goals for just the second time in their last 10 games.
The offense regained its form. But more importantly, the teams’ defense responded.
With injuries to Samuel Girard and Josh Manson, the Avalanche were forced to make changes to their blueline for the first time. Sam Malinksi made his NHL debut, finishing with 1 shot and a plus-1 in 12:02. Caleb Jones also made his debut following an early season trade from the Carolina Hurricanes.
Jones looked like a perfect fit. He pitched in with three hits and two blocked shots in 15:42. He even assisted in Makar’s tally in the third period.
Colorado’s depth has been one of the more front-facing issues facing the team. Drouin’s goal, which made it 4-1, was his first of the season. It came off a feed from Nathan MacKinnon, who had three assists. Drouin has been a healthy scratch on multiple occasions and seemed snakebitten at times. Another one of the Avs’ offseason additions Tomas Tatar, bounced back after a poor stretch of games. He had two primary assists, and three shots in his first game back in the top six.
In goal, Alexandar Georgiev responded well, stopping 18-of-19 shots to earn his league-leading eighth win of the season.
