DENVER — Avs general manager Chris MacFarland walked into the dressing room following media availability and made a beeline for Miles Wood. He gave the third-line forward a fist bump and praised him for an exceptional effort against his former club. It was the type of performance that entrusted MacFarland to hand out a long-term deal for a depth forward he had been scouting for years.
“That’s why we got those guys,” head coach Jared Bednar said of Wood and his linemate Ross Colton, who also was impactful in the short time he was available.
Wood doubled up his season point totals on Tuesday, recording a goal, assist and two hits in 11:49. He also finished with a plus-3 rating. He made his mark in the second period, where the game was tied before the Avalanche added three goals in the third to come away with a 6-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils at Ball Arena.
His goal was scored shorthanded and his assist was on Colton’s goal. To help kick off an intense second period, Wood also drew a retaliatory penalty on Dougie Hamilton after delivering a ferocious check on Jonas Siegenthaler.
“That added grit and physicality. You see it with big hits tonight on their D,” Bednar said of the duo, who along with Logan O’Connor, have become a crucial line for the Avs. “That can take its toll and keeps the D on their toes and maybe create some turnovers.”
Ryan Johansen and Nathan MacKinnon scored in the third period for Colorado before Mikko Rantanen’s second of the evening put the game away on the empty net. The Avs improved to 8-3-0 on the season, which includes a perfect 4-0-0 record on home ice.
Easily the most entertaining period of the season, the Avalanche and the Devils exchanged goals in the middle frame — each scoring twice. There were 29 penalty minutes and several power plays for each side. The heat was turned up and carried on for the rest of the evening.
First, Wood sent his Siegenthaler into the boards with a vicious but clean hit. Following the whistle, Hamilton — another former teammate — went after Wood and was called for roughing. Colorado failed to score on the ensuing power play despite getting some time on a two-man advantage. The tides quickly shifted from a 5-on-3 power play for Colorado to a 5-on-3 for New Jersey — and a lengthy power play in general — thanks to a wild sequence involving Colton.
Already on the PK, Colton went into the corner and lined up rookie defenseman Luke Hughes with a powerful hit into the end boards. The referee whistled him for boarding. The questionable call led to a visibly frustrated Colton slamming his stick on the ice. He was met at the circle by Timo Meier and instinctively cross-checked the New Jersey forward, catching him in the face. Already in the box for the minor penalty on the Hughes hit, Colton was eventually sent to the dressing room for what ended up being called a major penalty for cross-checking.
The referees reviewed the cross-check before making the call, which comes with an automatic ejection,
“I saw it very similar to the Wood hit,” Bednar said of the initial call on Wood. “The guy is trying to wheel around the net. We’re cutting him off. There’s gonna be contact, you know? I think the difference was Hughes last second tries to turn out of it without the puck so it didn’t look good.”
Bednar later added: “Meier turns back to go at Colton and he’s coming at him with his stick high, you gotta defend yourself and your sticks gotta go up unless you want to take one in the teeth. So that’s what he does. It’s a reaction play to me. I didn’t think that deserved a five I don’t like the call.”
Colton’s penalties totaled seven minutes of consecutive PP time, and the Devils scored twice. The first came just 19 seconds in on the two-man advantage and again with 2:41 remaining on the major penalty.
Sandwiched in the middle of the two New Jersey goals, Wood was sprung in on a shorthanded breakaway after taking a long pass from Nichushkin, scoring his first non-empty net goal of the season on another former teammate in Vitek Vanecek.
“I’ve shot on Vitek for about three years now. Just saw gloved side there and just kind of went for it,” Wood said.
Johansen’s go-ahead tally in the third period, which stood as the game-winner, was his fifth of the season in 11 games. Despite the second line being snake-bit at times, Johansen is up to five goals in 11 games. He only has one assist, though.
Among the Avs’ best performers, MacKinnon, like Wood, had a goal and an assist while Rantanen pitched in with two goals and a helper. Superstar defenseman Cale Makar had three assists and had a matching plus-4 rating to his D partner Devon Toews. In goal, Alexandar Georgiev made 20 saves to improve to 7-3 on the season.
