Flynn’s Daily: Who’s Hot, Who’s Not on the Avalanche

The Avalanche had three key players return in the last home game before hitting the road. They lost 5-2 to the Washington Capitals in a full-team breakdown. Colorado turned it around,  with a bounce-back 3-2 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday night and face off against the Caps again on Thursday night.

Alex Ovechkin will be out of the Capitals lineup with a week-to-week lower-body injury. While one player does not define an entire team, the Avs will have an advantage with him sidelined.

“Regardless of the situation you never want to see players go down. You know it’s a physical game and injuries are part of it, but the competitor in me wants to play the other team’s lineup. I want our team to have our lineup. That’s not the case for an 82-game season,” head coach Jared Bednar said after Wednesday’s practice.

Bednar said Alexandar Georgiev practiced light on Tuesday and Wednesday and everything “looked good.” He said that he could be an option for Thursday.

Cale Makar was the storyline for the Avalanche against Philly, but a few others stood out — Casey Mittelstadt got the game-winner (and the big hat) and the Sams (Malinski and Girard) were on point.

Notably, Nathan MacKinnon only had two shots on goal when he averaged 3.45 in 11 October games and 3.9 in eight November games. His production is a huge part of the team’s success and he earned an assist on Makar’s first goal. Not saying he’s slipping — he had a quiet night and other elite players stepped up to win the game.

Justus Annunen had a terrible game against the Capitals on Friday last week but managed to bounce back and play solid to help the Avs win in Philly. Bednar was pleased with his game which shows confidence from both the coach and the goaltender.

Valeri Nichushkin’s return has been quiet but just because he hasn’t gotten on the scoresheet doesn’t mean he’s playing poorly. He recorded two shots on goal and played on both special teams — adding nearly two additional minutes than his second-line center.

“He (Nichushkin) was good tonight. He was pretty good in game one being back and tonight I thought he was even better,” Bednar said after the win at Wells Fargo Center.

Jonathan Drouin returned from a game-one injury last Friday and has shown a spark in his game. He got an assist on Mittelstadt’s goal and has played on the top line with MacKinnon and Artturi Lehkonen or Mikko Rantanen.

It’s a matter of time before the team gels and chemistry heats up with its caliber of talent. And remember, Ross Colton and Gabriel Landeskog are still on the IR and their returns will have an impact.

Around the NHL

Buffalo Hockey Now: Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen shut out the Los Angeles Kings 1-0 in his return from injury Wednesday night. The Finnish netminder missed two games with a lower-body injury and is 7-4-1 in his 13 starts this season.

Read More: What You Missed from Sabres’ Shutout Win Over Kings

San Jose Hockey Now: The Sharks showed some signs of a possible victory over the Dallas Stars going into the second period tied at one but then it went downhill from there.

Midway through the middle frame San Jose was down 2-1 and gave all the control to the Stars which was solidified by Jamie Benn’s game-winner. Sheng Peng of SJHockey Now said he saw “San Jose being careless with the puck, not hard on pucks, and botching defensive coverages.”

More on Sharks loss to Stars: Sharks Locker Room: 2 Ugly Minutes

More Avalanche News

• Flynn’s Daily: Avalanche Goaltending — How Does it Look Right Now?
• Flynn’s Daily: Energy Earns Avalanche Bounce-Back Road Win Against Flyers
• Good & Bad: Cale Makar Scores 2 Goals in Win Over Flyers
• Notebook: What’s Going On With Mikko Rantanen’s Contract Extension Talks?