The Avalanche entered tonight’s matchup against the Ottawa Senators on a four-game winning streak. Despite allowing five goals on 21 shots, the Avs scored a late third-period goal and clinched the game with an empty netter to give the Avs a 7-5 victory, extending their winning streak to five. In their last five contests, the Avs have outscored their opponents 31-13. Those 31 goals were all scored without superstar Nathan MacKinnon, who has been out with a lower-body injury.
As a spectator, tonight’s game was pure entertainment, with a combined 12 goals, Keumper lost the blade on his skate, and there were even a few chippy skirmishes. For diehard Avalanche fans, it felt a little dicey. The Senator’s had not played a game since November 14th due to a team COVID outbreak and are sitting at the bottom of the league with a record of 4-10-1. It was a game the Avs should have easily won, they put up 41 shots on goal, but they made a few sloppy plays that kept them from putting the game away and giving Ottawa a chance to steal a win. Thankfully, the Avs did not relent or panic when they went down 5-4 early in the third period. Mikko came with a filthy game-tying goal halfway through the period, and young Alex Newhook finished them off with his second goal of the season to bring home the W.
It might not have been the win we were expecting, but it was a win nonetheless, and the Avs’ ability to fight their way back onto the scoreboard speaks volumes for how this club has grown from earlier in the season. Additionally, the Avs finally have generated power-play goals, scoring 8 out of their last 21 attempts in this five-game stretch, whereas they were 2/16 in the previous five games. Leaving me singing the classic song by the Merrymen, “Feeling Hot Hot Hot.”
Now, the Avs schedule for November is arguably their easiest for the season, but that is also why it is paramount for the Avs to rack up the low-hanging fruit while it is in front of them. It builds confidence and character in the club, especially when we are missing our best players. With MacKinnon’s absence, other players have been able to step up, including Makar, who scored two goals in this matchup and tied with Rantanen at seven goals. However, Nazem Kadri has been exceedingly impressive on the ice of late, where he has six goals for the season, and 17 assists, making him the team leader in points with 23.
The Avs are slowly inching their way back up the standings and are now only four points behind division leader, the Minnesota Wild, and have three games in hand on them. In other good news, MacKinnon has resumed skating after his injury on November 6th and will be traveling with the team on their upcoming trip back east. That’s a lot to feel hot hot hot about, and if you give the song a listen, I think it would make for a good goal scoring song, but that this is coming from someone who appreciates bad 80’s music. For your listening pleasure, please see below.