Aarif Deen
Brent Burns, Victor Olofsson, Parker Kelly, Ilya Solovyov, and Trent Miner were the Avalanche’s key players in Saturday’s 4-0 shutout victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Ball Arena.
Burns, 40, has spent the majority of the season on the second pair alongside Josh Manson. Olofsson has been a staple of the third line all year. Kelly played most of the year on the fourth line before getting an upgrade to the third on Thursday. Solovyov spent more than two months as a healthy scratch before playing the last four. And Miner, who is Colorado’s third-string goalie, got just his second start of the year.
It wasn’t a tough team to play against by any means. The Jackets entered the matchup in last place in the Eastern Conference. But it also was’t Colorado’s top guys doing the work.
That’s how good this team has been this year.
Meanwhile, Solovyov, who celebrated with pure joy and emotion after scoring, was still just as excited postgame when we chatted with him about the goal.
He’s the happiest man in Denver this weekend.
More from Solovyov and others in the room, as the Avs won yet again at home.
READ MORE: Postgame Wrap: Miner, Solovyov Earn Career First in Avalanche’s Shutout Victory
10 Takeaways
1. It’s not an exaggeration. Solovyov was still riding an emotional high after the game. For a guy who doesn’t speak much English, he was as excited as ever to chat with us and share his feelings about the career achievement.
“Oh, it’s unbelievable. I was just happy. Happy for myself, proud of the work that I’ve done for the two months where I’m not playing,” Solovyov told me. “Happy for my family as well, who supported me, especially my wife. She’s probably seen not the best of me in these two months. But she tried to help me as much as she can.”
2. Solovyov was very complimentary of skills coach Mark Popovic and joked that he’s racked up quite a bit of miles of skating since his last stretch of games.
“I’m happy. Really happy to be here,” Solovyov said. “I think that the work that I’ve done in these two months, it’s really helped me right now to feel way more confident. Much easier than the first nine games when I played here.”
3. The best part about Solovyov’s celebration was how much the team rallied around it for him. This is a veteran group that, had it not been for him or Miner, wouldn’t have celebrated a win like this as much as they did.
“You can see how excited they get. They were all pumped up for him on the bench. I think that helps,” head coach Jared Bednar said. “I’m not the best at pointing out milestones, but our guys know it. I didn’t realize that was his first NHL goal in the moment. I knew it was his first of the year, but he was excited. Our guys knew it. They were excited.”
4. I didn’t get a chance to chat with Burns after the game, instead opting for a smaller scrum with Solovyov and eventually Miner. I would’ve loved to ask Burns about Solovyov jumping into his arms after the goal. Burns matched that energy really quickly.
5. Speaking of Burns, this was his first two-goal game since Jan. 5, 2024. Last year, he only had six in a full 82-game season with Carolina. The two goals against Columbus got him to seven, and eventually eight on the season.
Not bad for 40 years old.
6. Miner was a lot more laid back about his career first. This was his first NHL victory, and he got it with a shutout. You can tell the guys wanted to get him that late in the game.
“This team is so deep. Forwards and D blocking shots, scoring goals,” Miner said. “It’s a pretty good group to play with, and they just keep running away.”
7. It’s not lost on me that Gavin Brindley had a strong game against the Blue Jackets. He was pretty open in October about having an extra chip on his shoulder when playing against them this year. Brindley had two assists, his first points since a two-point effort against the Florida Panthers on Dec. 11.
8. The Avalanche are the only team this year to have three different goalies record a shutout. The Carolina Hurricanes accomplished the feat last season.
9. Two games on the second line for Ross Colton, and he’s got four assists in that span. He looks like a great fit alongside Brock Nelson, just like he did earlier in the year.
Speaking of Nelson, he was seen coming out of the X-ray room postgame. Bednar said he was fine when asked if anything was wrong with Colorado’s No. 2 center.
10. The Avalanche’s 17 consecutive wins at home is the sixth longest in NHL history. They are one back of their franchise record 18 during the 2021-22 season. They eventually went on to win the Stanley Cup that year.
They’re also just six back of the NHL record. It’ll be interesting to see how long they can keep this going, especially given that the next five are all at home. Next up, the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday.