10 Observations: This Isn’t the Time for Injuries to Pile on the Avalanche

The Avalanche were victorious in the first leg of a back-to-back on Wednesday, defeating the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 in the shootout.

The Avs pretty much did to Chicago what the Calgary Flames did to them two nights prior. They erased a two-goal deficit in the third period and stole a second point in the process.

Given how the last handful of games have gone, it was nice to see the superstars take control of the game late and refuse a loss like this.

10 Observations

1. It’s way too early to know if Jonathan Drouin is going to miss any time. And if he does, if it’ll stretch into the playoffs. Either way, losing him so close to the end of the regular season for the second straight year would be brutally bad luck. Let’s hope that’s not the case.

2. Speaking of injuries, Martin Necas’ injury scare still worries me. That’s the type of injury that could linger into the next day. We’ll find out later this evening once the Avs take the ice against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

3. Schedule makers, what are you doing? If the Avalanche actually had something to play for, this would be a much bigger deal than it already is. But they dropped the puck at 9:52 p.m. ET in Chicago on Wednesday and will drop the puck at 7:08 p.m. against Columbus. That’s an insane turnaround with travel.

4. One more goal for Cale Makar to do the thing. He’d be the first defenseman since 2008-09 to reach 30 goals.

5. Would’ve loved to see Nathan MacKinnon beat up on a lesser opponent to give himself a better chance at winning the Art Ross Trophy. As things currently stand, he and Nikita Kucherov are tied with 111 points each. Although it’s worth noting that Kucherov and the Lightning have two games in hand.

It’s not looking good for MacKinnon. He had one assist against Chicago.

6. Am I missing something with Mackenzie Blackwood? Without any local media traveling to Chicago, there wasn’t an update provided on why Colorado’s starter did not dress. Kevin Mandolese served as the backup to Scott Wedgewood.

7. Pretty cool stat courtesy of Avalanche PR: The game-tying goal from Necas was the 10th 6-on-5 tally for the Avs this season. That not only leads the NHL, but it also breaks a franchise record for the most in one season.

8. Colorado is three wins away from reaching 50 in each of the last four seasons. The only other team that can get there (and probably will) is the Carolina Hurricanes. This felt like a pipe dream not too long ago.

9. Samuel Girard did not play in this game either. We’ll find out soon what the deal is there. Basically, status updates are needed for Drouin, Blackwood, and Girard while also keeping an eye on Necas after that scary play in Chicago.

That’s a lot.

10. Artturi Lehkonen made that shootout goal look easy. He was smiling ear to ear after clinching the win, too. Even though it doesn’t count as a goal, I wonder if that tally helps break him out of this scoring slump.