Good & Bad
Postgame Wrap: Miner, Solovyov Earn Career Firsts in Avalanche’s Shutout Victory
Trent Miner got his first start since October and was perfect for the Avalanche on Saturday. Miner made 29 saves against the Columbus Blue Jackets, leading the Avs to a 4-0 victory at Ball Arena.
Colorado extended its home winning streak to 17 games, which is one off the franchise record set during the 2021-22 season.
“It takes consistency in order to win that much in a row and not take nights off or have bad nights,” head coach Jared Bednar said. “Some games are better than others, but I feel like our guys are always there to compete, and their hearts and minds are in the right place.”
Brent Burns scored two goals, while Victor Olofsson and Ilya Solovyov each added one for the Avalanche, who improved to 33-4-7 on the season and 2-0-0 during their season-long seven-game homestand.
Parker Kelly and Gavin Brindley had two assists each, while Olofsson added one to also finish with multiple points. Ross Colton earned his fourth assist in two games. Miner made 13 of his saves in the second period, where the Avs were outshot despite having the only goal. This is his first career NHL win and shutout.
“A lot of excitement,” Trent Miner said. “It wasn’t easy. There were a lot of block shots out there tonight, and I think it was a well earned team win.”
Adding to a night of firsts, Solovyov’s goal was the first of his career. And he celebrated like he was waiting for that moment for a long time.
“That kind of energy, it’s contagious. So you want to have it,” Bednar said.
After an early push for the Jackets, which saw them obtain four of the first five shots, the Avs started to take over.
Columbus has been inconsistent in recent weeks and were struggling to keep up with Colorado’s speed. In most cases, the visiting team would give the puck away or fail to clear the zone when they had the chance.
The Avalanche continued to put shots on goal, finishing the period with 15 while another 10 were blocked.
Burns broke through first, getting on the board at 13:58. Following a successful penalty kill by Columbus, and two strong saves by Elvis Merzlikins, Burns collected the rebound in the slot and beat the goaltender to make it 1-0. He has goals in consecutive games.
Before the period ended, Olofsson added to the lead, scoring a backhander from in close for his eighth of the year and second since Nov. 16. Olofsson broke an 11-game point-less drought with that goal.
The lone tally in the second came from Solovyov. The defender trailed the puckholder into the zone, eventually getting a cross-ice pass from Kelly just as he entered the zone. With room to maneuver, Solovyov fired his shot after reaching the circle to the right of Merzlikins and beat him clean to extend his point streak to three games.
Burns added another in the third. Colorado finished with a 31-29 shot advantage.
Good: Making the Most of an Opportunity
Miner and Solovyov haven’t played a lot this season. But on Saturday, both of them made the most of an opportunity.
Bednar hasn’t used Miner much this season. He was the backup for nearly the first three weeks of the season, but only started once and appeared in two games. He got a second call-up when Scott Wedgewood went down with an injury in early December. Now with Mackenzie Blackwood out, Miner has been back with the big club since the calendar flipped to 2026.
And in all of that time, this is just his second start. Miner made the most of it. By earning a shutout, Miner collected his first career win in the NHL and brought his career save percentage up over .900. Miner is 1-1-2 dating back to last season when he made his debut.
As for Solovyov, his goal was a cherry on top of what’s already been a strong week of games. Solovyov returned to the lineup for the first time since Nov. 1 following an injury to Devon Toews.
Since then, he’s played four games and has a point in each of the last three. He’s also a +5 during this stretch.
Bad: Power Play Needs Success in Consecutive Games
The Avs’ power play has filled this part of my postgame stories the most this year. This game would’ve been a good time to build some confidence after scoring twice against Ottawa on Thursday.
Instead, Colorado was 0-for-2 in a game that didn’t have many calls on either side.
I liked these defensive pairings. With Makar and Malinski you don’t get Toews’ defense but my goodness, the opponent has to essentially defend 5 forwards. I liked Solovyov with the vet Burns rather than Malinski. I think Burns must be a good communicator who can settle down whoever he’s paired with. Solovyov seemed more comfortable and it showed. Burns has mostly been with Manson this year and while yes, Manson has played more freely this year because he’s not hurt but he’s also taken fewer dumb penalties which might have something to do with Burns, his usual partner
The D, especially 2nd and 3rd pairings, carried them last night. It’s great to have depth and win in different ways. Not relying on Nate and Cale to win every game is huge.
This was definitely a game where one team was clearly superior to the other, and never let the opponent come up for air. It’s the type of game we would expect from such a dominant team going against a cellar-dweller, but in credit to the Avs, they didn’t take their opponent lightly or look ahead of them to the bigger game against Toronto. I was so happy for Solovyov – he’s been close and has obviously chipped in points, but you could tell how much it meant for him to get his first goal. You could also tell how excited… Read more »
Yeah that was a nice moment.
Merz made a lot of nice stops before Burns broke through.
Our power-play looked pretty bad against a team with a bad PK percentage. Sloppy entries and overpassing.
Our was D was pretty stifling and we really didn’t give up many high danger chances.
Brindley is so fast.
Itwas nice the shut out for Miner who played well but didn’t face too many serious tests.
Id player miner against the Leafs. Save wedgie for pens
I don’t see the Pens anywhere on this month’s schedule. It is the Leafs, then three off days. Miner is likely back in the AHL by then, unless Blackwood’s injury is longer term than we think.
I don’t think you had enough paragraphs here mate. 🤣
Avs looking for a 3C. What about Novak from the pens or Jenner
One player I have noticed that doesnt get alot of recognition is bardakov. He plays really hard.
Stat of the night was read off by JML. In the first period Columbus’ average shot distance came from outside 60 feet. They may have been evenish in shots on the night but it wasn’t close, pun-intended.