After a devastating (and, frankly, confusing) ending to Thursday’s game against the Nashville Predators, the AV got a chance for revenge with a 4-2 win over their division rival.
Nathan MacKinnon (because who else?) started the scoring just 1:26 into the first quarter at Ball Arena. Jack Drury scored Colorado’s second goal of the period at 11:47, a highlight-reel goal from a 4-on-4 opportunity. While AV won the first game, Nashville got on the board before the end of the period thanks to a nice power-play goal from Ryan O’Reilly’s pass behind the goal line, setting up Jonathan Marchessault for his seventh goal of the season.
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Viktor Olofsson was the only player to score in the second period, missing a six-on-five opportunity due to a delayed penalty kick.
It was a pretty sluggish third period, but Colorado did hold Nashville to just two shots on goal in the first 10 minutes. At least Valeri Nichushkin had an insurance goal with an empty-netter with 3:34 left in the game. Tyson Jost entered the game with just over a minute left to cut the lead in half, but it wasn’t enough to rally.
That’s where things ended, with the AVs outscoring their conference rivals 4-1.
It’s been a while, Victor Olofsson
In a slow offseason, Colorado began to fill the very few holes they had to fill to start the season. One of them is Victor Olofsson, a notorious sniper who is viewed as a valuable addition to the middle six.
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In 31 games, he only scored 6 goals, 3 of which were scored in the 8-4 victory over the New Jersey Devils, and the last goal was scored in the 11/16 game against the New York Islanders.
Today, he scored his seventh goal.
Colorado held on through a choppy Nashville zone and added an extra attacker on the ice when Scott Wedgewood went to the bench for an extra attacker on a delayed penalty kick.
It’s not a “real” power play goal (sorry Power Game believers), but it gives you hope that you can use people’s strengths moving forward.
Showdown in the crease
On November 4, 2024, the Avs made the move all fans hoped they would make: go out and strengthen their front.
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Scott Wedgewood just signed with the Predators ahead of the 2024-25 season. The AV acquired “The Wedge” — the front half of the lumberyard, as it’s popularly known in Colorado — and in return sent away rookie goaltender-turned-backup Justus Annunen.
Guess who’s in front of the Predators’ net tonight?
Juuse Saros started Tuesday’s game against the Avs, but Anunen starts tonight against his former team.
Annunen’s numbers since joining the Predators have not been stellar (24/25: 3.17 GAA, 0.888 SV%; 25/26: 3.83 GAA, 0.851 SV%)
Wedgewood, on the other hand, put up amazing numbers and even earned himself a one-year contract extension that will keep him in Colorado through the 2026-27 season.
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24/25: 1.99 GAA, 0.917 SV%
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25/26: 2.11 GAA, 0.919 SV%
