Aarif Deen
Collecting 81.6 percent of points through 19 games isn’t something we often see. But that’s where the Avalanche are right now.
Following a 4-1 victory over the New York Islanders, the Avs improved to 13-1-5 and 7-0-2 at Ball Arena. They’ve collected 31 of a possible 38 games and have the NHL’s longest active winning streak, currently at six games.
They keep winning, but it’s not the same guys each night. For example, Nathan MacKinnon didn’t have a crazy multi-point night in this one.
Cale Makar had an assist, and it was a nice pass, but he didn’t produce multiple points either.
Martin Necas scored a goal, his 13th of the season, but it was on an empty net.
Different guys are stepping up when the top stars aren’t carrying the offensive load. It’s a nice change from the past three seasons.
“It’s not always going to be total domination in every game,” head coach Jared Bednar said. “You gotta make one more play than they do to win hockey games, and we’ve been consistent with that. It’s different guys stepping up on different nights.”
Here’s what I saw at Ball Arena on Sunday night, and how the Avs continued to handle clubs that are playing good hockey.
READ MORE: The Aftermath: Wedgewood Saves His Best Work For the PK in Latest Avalanche Victory
10 Observations
1. Throughout Bednar’s postgame presser, he was first asked about Brock Nelson and credited him for having a strong game. On the next question, I asked about Ross Colton and how the coach feels he’s looked on that second line alongside Nelson.
Bednar gave Colton all the credit in the world for playing that role and doing it well.
The very next question, from a colleague, asked the head coach about the third line, where Gabe Landeskog, Jack Drury, and Victor Olofsson have been playing well. Bednar again gave credit.
Eventually, the coach gave everyone credit. “You’re not going to get any complaints from me,” he said.
He was basically trying to tell us to stop going through the entire lineup. There wasn’t a guy that he wasn’t going to credit for their recent play.
2. Nelson’s goal came with 16 seconds left after the Avs had already cashed in on the empty net to secure two points. It wasn’t the most important goal, but it was a big moment for him. Playing against his former team — against the organization that drafted him 15 years ago — Nelson badly wanted to get one, and he did.
He also had an assist on the opening tally from Colton, meaning it’s his first multi-point game of the season. The production has slowly been finding its way back for Colorado’s No. 2 centerman. His two-way game has been strong all year, but, as Bednar said postgame, Nelson has been a little snakebitten.
3. One of the funnier stats of the game, at least to me, was Nelson’s faceoff success rate. Or should I say, the lack thereof. Nelson won just 10-of-37 faceoffs, going mostly against former teammates Bo Horvat, J.G. Pageau, and Matt Barzal.
Those guys know his tendencies. They’ve learned them for years, and they got one up on him in the dot.
4. This was MacKinnon’s first time in 34 games without at least a point in a home game, dating all the way back to Dec. 12, 2024.
How long ago was that? It was six weeks before the team traded Mikko Rantanen. Guys like Juuso Parssinen, Calvin de Haan, Oliver Kylington, and Casey Mittelstadt also dressed for the Avs back then.
Even in a game where he doesn’t produce, there’s still a way to highlight just how much of a star No. 29 is. Imagine that.
5. It was pretty ironic that Landeskog was initially credited with a secondary assist on the Olofsson goal before it was eventually taken away. Landeskog fought hard to keep the puck in the offensive zone. It landed on Sam Malinski’s stick, and he fired the shot that was redirected in by Olofsson.
But before it got to Malinski, an Islanders player touched it.
6. Still, in his last six games, the captain has two goals and an assist, and that doesn’t include the two goals that were called back. This especially felt like a game where he was a positive contributor, even though he didn’t have any points to show for it. The physicality was on full display, as was his hard work on the forecheck.
7. Olofsson at Ball Arena: six goals, five assists, 11 points in nine games. Only Necas has more goals at home (eight). Olofsson has not scored a goal on the road yet this season. Just one of those weird numbers through almost the first quarter of the season.
8. Wedgewood leads the league with 11 wins, and in eight of them, he’s only allowed precisely one goal. Eight is also the most wins from any other goalie in this league — one goal against or otherwise. He’s widening the gap with each start.
It’s special to see him doing what he’s been able to do this year. His save percentage has also rebounded to .917.
9. That was a heck of a performance by Josh Manson in that fight with Anders Lee. Manson has quietly been a force on the back end this year and is again proving why he’s such a big piece of this team. The issue has never been his play, but rather his health. And this year, he’s so far been healthy and racking up minutes with zero issues.
10. Brent Burns and Malinski both have the same stat line: One goal, nine assists, and 10 points through 19 games. That’s an outstanding level of production from the bottom two pairs.