Avs Have ‘Plenty Of Work To Do Still’ After 1st Preseason Win At Ball Arena

The Colorado Avalanche beat the Utah Mammoth 3-2 in their first preseason game at Ball Arena Sunday night. It was not an impressive win, but it was an educational one.

“Sloppy early, and I thought we got better as it went on, but there’s lots to work on,” assistant coach Nolan Pratt said after the victory. “Our third period was good. I don’t think we gave up very much, not to look at the shots, but it wasn’t a whole lot. Penalty kill did a nice job at the end there. Better as it went, but plenty of work to do still.”

The top line scored all three goals with one from each player — Artturi Lehkonen, Martin Necas and Brock Nelson, respectively. Those three outshot the other three lines 10-4. The Avs’ defenseman contributed seven shots on goal, with Connor Kelley and Josh Manson earning an assist each.

Read More: 10 Observations From the Avalanche’s Preseason Opener

The Avs had a slow start, getting outshot in the first period, but came around in the second and third. Necas and Nelson each had four SOG but Necas plans to work on his details.

“First you get out there, you just want to play. And then, shift after shift, you kind of realize little things you got to do. It’s the little things, but at the end of the day, it matters,” Necas said.

Nelson played on both the power play and penalty kill units last season, and Pratt was impressed with his performance on the penalty kill in the win.

“Big body, obviously, skates really well, pretty strong on draws as well. There’s a lot of good attributes, but he’s a highly intelligent player, so (I) used him tonight, just to kind of get some of those draws going,” Pratt said. “Him and Lehky (Lehkonen) did a nice job when they were out there, so I kept using them. I do see him being a part of it. We’ve got a pretty good group of forwards that can all contribute in that, and he’ll be one of them.”

Two notable players were goaltender Trent Miner and defenseman Alex Gagne. Miner made 19 saves in the nearly 40 minutes he played, and will likely be Scott Wedgewood’s backup if Mackenzie Blackwood doesn’t start the season due to a lower-body injury. Gagne was a plus-1 with two shots on goal in his first NHL exhibition game.

“He (Gagne) played a real strong game, and kind of got better as the game went on and looked a little bit more comfortable. I really liked what I’ve seen with him … he stood out to me tonight and made some nice plays defensively and with the puck as well,” Pratt said.

The Avalanche won its first split-squad preseason game Sunday, 5-1 at the University of Denver’s Magness Arena. The team will face off against the Dallas Stars at Ball Arena on Saturday night, with players who did not participate in either of the first games expected in the lineup.