Postgame Wrap: Avalanche Put 6 Past Binnington, Blow Out Blues at Ball Arena

The Avalanche lit up goalie Jordan Binnington on Wednesday, defeating the St. Louis Blues 6-1 at Ball Arena, where they’ve now won 15 straight games.

Colorado embarrassed the Blues, outshooting them 43-13, including 20-4 in the first period, to secure their ninth straight win overall.

Valern Nichushkin had a hat trick, Nathan MacKinnon scored two goals and added two assists, and Brock Nelson had a goal and an assist. Mackenzie Blackwood made 12 saves for Colorado to improve to 13-1-1 on the season.

“The season’s been great, but we haven’t had a start like that, and that was a lot of fun,” MacKinnon said. “I wish we got the shutout for Blacky, but, you know, it is what it is.”

The Avs got the scoring started early, and they put their stamp on the game quickly. It was 1-0 at the one-minute mark thanks to Nichushkin’s first of the evening, capitalizing on his own rebound from in close after an initial save from Binnington.

Cale Makar added another tally shortly after that, but a coach’s challenge for goalie interference waived it off. MacKinnon was just above the blue paint and made contact with Binnington just as Makar found the back of the net.

Before the crowd could finish booing the decision from the officials, MacKinnon scored and signaled to the puck in the back of the net in a sign of protest for the goal that didn’t count.

While the announcement for his 400th career goal was ongoing, Nichushkin scored on a rebound to make it 3-0 at 3:26. His tally came just 13 seconds after the MacKinnon goal.

And just 1:13 after that, MacKinnon smashed a one-timer past Binnington to make it 4-0 at 4:39. The Blues had already called timeout, they settled things down and didn’t give up a goal the rest of the period. Binnington remained in the game.

Blackwood didn’t face a shot for nearly 12 minutes, and the first one he faced was an incredible split save on Jake Neighbours on a two-on-one play. He also had a massive stop on the Blues power play later in the second.

Colorado added to the lead with a much-needed power play goal — a one-timer from Nelson off a set up from Makar. The Avs were absolutely dominating.

The Blues had only four shots in the first and three in the second. They added six in the third and ended Blackwood’s shutout bid with a goal from Dalibor Dvorsky with 5:29 remaining.

Nichushkin completed the hat trick at 16:06.

Good: Message Sent

MacKinnon, Makar, and Devon Toews all played for Team Canada with Binnington at the 4 Nations Face-Off last February. They all were there to see Binnington come up with a clutch overtime performance against Team USA in the Gold Medal game.

But they have also, at one point or another, spoken about having Blackwood or even Scott Wedgewood on the Team Canada roster with them. Neither of them will be there, barring an injury to Binnington, Logan Thompson or Darcy Kuemper.

Binnington has had a terrible season to date, and in his first game after being named to the team, he allowed four goals on his first eight shots and six overall.

Blackwood didn’t see a lot of action at the other end. But he still did his part to keep the Blues from capitalizing on their chances.

Message sent.

Bad: The Blues’ Entire Team Looks Uninspiring

I recall the Blues being a tough battle for the Avalanche several times last year, especially after the 4 Nations Face-Off. I’m not sure what happened to that team and those players, but this team looks lost.

The Avs had way more space than they needed to generate offense. Nichushkin was able to score on his own rebound on his first tally easily, and had nobody around him when he scored on the rebound again later. MacKinnon didn’t have much pressure on him for either goal, either.

The Blues’ forecheck was nonexistent. And they were often slow getting back to their own zone. It seems like a deep-rooted issue that’s way deeper than just a bad goalie.