The penalty kill was a huge factor in each of the Avalanche’s first two games to open the season. And it was no different on Tuesday, where Colorado remained perfect on the PK — killing off each of Seattle’s four power-play opportunities, and scoring a shorthanded game-winning tally — en route to a 4-1 victory.
The Avs are 3-0-0 to open the season for the seventh time in franchise history as they prepare for the home opener on Thursday at Ball Arena. Through the first three games, Colorado has collected two points in each game in a different way. They overpowered the L.A. Kings in last week’s opener before heavily outshooting San Jose on Saturday. In that game, the Avs needed a late-game-tying goal and a shootout to defeat the Sharks and red-hot goalie MacKenzie Blackwood. But in their first game against the team that eliminated them from the 2023 playoffs, Colorado was outplayed for a majority of the evening — most notably the first two periods — but managed to claw back from a one-goal deficit to secure the win.
The goals came from Artturi Lehkonen, Logan O’Connor and Mikko Rantanen before Valeri Nichushkin added an empty netter to put the game away late. O’Connor’s tally, the shorthanded winner, came one period after he dropped the gloves with Jordan Eberle. The Kraken forward injured O’Connor’s linemate Andrew Cogliano in Game 6 with an aggressive hit along the boards that broke Cogliano’s neck.
Logan O'Connor chases down the clear and buries on the breakaway for a SHORTY!#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/CqBO8wGvRh
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) October 18, 2023
Key Takeaways
- Cale Makar registered an assist on the O’Connor tally to record his 250th career regular-season point. Makar reached the milestone in 241 games, becoming the fastest defenseman in NHL history to reach the mark, surpassing Hall of Famer Bobby Orr.
- The Avs registered their 14th consecutive regular-season road victory — a streak that stretches over two seasons. It is tied for the most in NHL history. They’ll have a chance to break that record when they head to Long Island next Tuesday for a matchup against the New York Islanders.
- Rantanen’s third-period tally was the 11,000th regular season goal in franchise history.
- Goalie Alexandar Georgiev is 3-0-0 to start the year, leading the NHL in wins. He has stopped 91-of-95 shots thus far, boasting a .958 save percentage.