Avalanche beat the Calgary Flames 5-2 in Denver on Saturday night, scoring the first four goals of the game at Ball Arena. Artturi Lehkonen scored twice for Colorado, and Cale Makar had four assists. The win improved Colorado to 8-5-1, while Calgary fell to 6-8. Colorado has now won two games in a row against opponents playing on the second night of a back-to-back.
Nathan MacKinnon opened the scoring at 14:13 of the first period, beating Calgary goaltender Arsenii Sergeev on the short side. MacKinnon finished with a goal and an assist. Mackenzie Blackwood made 25 saves for Colorado, including a glove save on Matt Coronato with eight seconds left in the first period that kept the lead at 1-0. Coronato had a chance from the right doorstep, but Blackwood stopped it.
Avalanche then scored three times in the first 10 minutes of the second period. Martin Necas scored on the power play at 2:37, with 19 seconds left on the advantage. Lehkonen made it 3-0 at 5:48, and Brock Nelson tapped a pass from Gabriel Landeskog out of the air and past Sergeev at 9:07 to make it 4-0. Necas finished with a goal and an assist, and Devon Toews had two assists for Colorado.
Avalanche build a four-goal lead in Denver
Calgary answered at 10:50 of the second period, when Joel Farabee scored after winning his own rebound in front of the net. Farabee’s goal was his fifth of the season and his fifth in six games. Martin Pospisil then made it 4-2 at 1:59 of the third period, scoring on a one-timer from the bottom of the right circle after a cross-crease pass from Ryan Strome. Calgary had cut a four-goal gap in half and had life in the game.
Avalanche restored its three-goal lead less than three minutes later. Lehkonen deflected Makar’s shot from the point past Sergeev at 4:09 of the third period for his second goal of the night and his 12th goal of the season. Lehkonen’s first goal had been his 11th of the season. Makar assisted on four of Colorado’s five goals, a season high for points in a game for the defenseman.
Sergeev made 29 saves in his second career start and his first start this season. Calgary played its third game in four nights and faced Colorado less than 24 hours after beating Seattle. Sergeev is Calgary’s No. 3 goaltender, and he kept the Flames in the game early before Colorado’s second-period burst. Calgary outshot Colorado in parts of the game but could not match the home team’s finishing.
Avalanche goalie holds firm after Calgary rally
Blackwood stopped 25 of 27 shots for the Avalanche. Two of his stops came right after MacKinnon opened the scoring, and his save on Coronato at the end of the first period mattered because Calgary had a two-on-one rush as time ran out. If Coronato had scored, Calgary would have gone into the break tied at 1-1 instead of trailing. Blackwood’s save kept the Avalanche in front and set up the second-period burst.
Nelson was struck on the side of his helmet by a shot from Makar in the second period and was attended to on the ice before skating to the bench. He returned at the start of the third period. Colorado was not whistled for a penalty in the game, while Calgary took three penalties, including a double minor late in the third period. Noah Juulsen replaced Josh Manson in Colorado’s defense after Manson suffered an ankle injury on Wednesday against New Jersey and will miss up to eight weeks.
Avalanche outshot Calgary 36-27, according to one game report, while the Flames’ own report listed the shots as 34-27 in favor of Colorado. Either way, Colorado had the edge in shots and in goals. Calgary captain Mikael Backlund led the Flames with five shots on goal, while Pospisil and Kevin Bahl each had five hits for Calgary.
Avalanche start a road trip in Chicago
Avalanche begins a two-game road trip on Monday against the Chicago Blackhawks at 6 p.m. Mountain Time. The Avalanche will look to extend their winning run after beating New Jersey on Wednesday and Calgary on Saturday. Both wins came against teams playing on the second night of a back-to-back, and Colorado took advantage of tired opponents in each game.
Calgary’s three-game road trip continues on Monday evening in San Jose, before wrapping up on Wednesday in Seattle. The Flames settled for a split of their weekend after beating Seattle on Friday and losing in Denver on Saturday. Calgary will need a better start in San Jose after falling behind 4-0 in Denver and leaving itself too much work to do in the third period.