10 Observations: Necas Has His First Three-Point Game For Avalanche

Big 4-2 victory for the Avalanche over the Calgary Flames.

I’m curious to see how much of that can carry into a big game against Edmonton on Friday night.

10 Observations

1. Second straight game with a fighting major for Miles Wood. I appreciated him stepping up for Nathan MacKinnon. That was the right move. But he still got an extra minor call and keeps racking up the type of PIMs coaches don’t like. Tough stretch.

Wood played a team-low 8:23.

2. Cale Makar reaching 20 goals for the third time before the age of 27 is one of those mind-blowing stats that the Avalanche would’ve never imagined when they drafted him. It’ll never stop impressing me to see him do these things.

3. It’s hilarious that Nazem Kadri won 17-of-22 faceoffs. Just in case you forgot how much the Avalanche have missed him.

4. The Avs defense still needs to be reworked, but I really wonder how much of Josh Manson’s struggles have been because of him playing through that injury. I think it was a bit of a blessing for the team to keep him out these last two games. Get him the rest and recovery he needs during the long break.

5. Martin Necas eclipsed 24 minutes of ice time for the fourth time in his career. All four of those have come in his first seven games with the Avalanche. So yes, Necas’ top four highest time-on-ice games have all come in the last two weeks.

6. This is a player who was hungry for a bigger chance and he got it. When you compare that with the diminished ice time Mikko Rantanen is getting in Carolina, it’s not surprising to compare their early results with their new clubs. The player losing ice time and priority is always going to get hit harder. Rantanen has a goal and an assist in six games with Carolina. Necas has eight points in seven games with Colorado. I’m curious to see where their stats are at the end of the regular season.

7. I gotta hand it to Sam Malinski for having one of his best games of the season. He was elevated to the second pair in Manson’s absence and delivered 19 minutes of solid hockey, a nice assist on Necas’ second goal, and a tally of his own that was called back for a coach’s challenge.

8. Mackenzie Blackwood let in four goals against the New York Islanders almost two weeks ago. He’s let in just four goals in the four games since, which includes two shutout wins.

9. He’s not going to play 82 games this season, but Artturi Lehkonen’s current stats, if extrapolated over 82 games, come out to 44 goals, 17 assists, and 61 points. Wild.

Lehkonen has 22 goals, 9 assists, 31 points in 44 games. He’s also a +22.

10. Hopefully Lehkonen, Jonathan Drouin, and Casey Mittelstadt can rebuild some of that production and chemistry together when Valeri Nichushkin returns. And if not, maybe Lehkonen and Drouin can gain chemistry with whoever plays 2C after the trade deadline.