If scoring 8 goals is considered a “snowball”, than our 9 goals would bring us into a snowball fight territory.
When it rains, it really does pour. Thankfully, for us the rain came in the form of goals on Thursday night at Pepsi Center, where the Avs defeated the Nashville Predators 9-4. This coming from a team, who was previously in a goal drought, with only two goals in their previous three games, was nothing shy of a miracle.
It’s no secret that the Avs have not been preforming at their best. After a strong first period, with the Avs capitalizing on their power play opportunities, the momentum was clearly in their favor entering the second, but after allowing two goal in five minutes the Avs were down 3-2. It didn’t look good. In fact, I sulked walked away from the game into the other room, with a sense of preeminent defeat that we were going to lose our 6th straight. However, I soon heard the distant, yet always distinctive sound of the foghorn announcing a goal. With great alacrity, I was back at the TV to watch the replay of Joonas Donskoi’s game tying goal. It was there that I stood and watched the Avs continue to bury puck after puck, and score six goals in 8 minutes. Yes, you heard me correctly. Six goals in 8 minutes. It was unreal. Had I been at the game, I probably would be writing this from my hospital bed after my heart attack. Luckily, I was in the safety of my own home, and the only ailment inflicted was a racing heartbeat that kept me awake longer than anticipated.
It goes without saying that this was a new record for the Avalanche, and a feat that hasn’t occurred in the NHL since Toronto in 2005. It also tied the Avalanche record for goals scored in a game. The last time they racked up nine goals was in 2007 versus the St. Louise Blues. The most goals ever scored in franchise history was when the Quebec Nordiques scored 12 goals against San Jose on December 5,1995. The next day, the Nordiques acquired Patrick Roy. Not a bad two days for the franchise.
The Avs would close out the second period with a commanding 8-3 lead. After the explosive second period, the third was relatively quiet with a goal apiece and a final score of 9-4. Until last night, the Preds goaltender, Pekka Rinne was undefeated in regulation, but was pulled after allowing the first five goals. He was replaced by Juus Saros, who allowed four more subsequent goals. Between the two goalies, they faced 45 shots generated by the Avs, who put up 18 shots in each of the first two periods, compared to the Predator’s 24 shots total. Thirteen players had points in the game, with seven different players scoring a goal, including Donskoi’s first career hat trick. MacKinnon lead the team with four points, but did not return in the final period, where he sat out due to an upper body injury. Bedar says MacKinnon’s absence was “precautionary”, and is expected to play on Saturday (can I get a “Thank God”?!) In not so fortunate news, Nikita Zadorov suffered a facial injury after receiving a puck to the face during the game, and is out indefinitely.
While the injuries to the Avs are adding up by the game, their performance last night was the light after a long, dark tunnel. It was only one game, and if we can take anything away from the match, it is that anything can happen. In eight minutes, we can go from trailing to leading by five goals, but in another game it could easily go the other way. However, defeating a divisional team 9-4 has to bode well for the confidence of the team who is missing a handful of star players. If we can score six goals in eight minutes, and force to pull one of the hottest goalies in the league, while we are lacking our starting goaltender, and two of our top players, what else are we capable of?
Anything.
Sometimes hard work and determination pay off, sometimes it is luck, and sometimes it is a combination of both. Whatever is was last night, here’s to hoping that the rainstorm keeps coming. After all, Colorado can always use the moisture.