Blink and the Avalanche might be in first place.
The Avs have two months to chase down their superiors in the Central Division standings, but their chances to accelerate that process via head-to-head matchups are waning.
In their penultimate matchup vs. the second-place Jets, the Avs smelled blood in the water and took advantage of the opportunity with a commanding 5-1 win Friday in Winnipeg.
Suddenly, Colorado (32-19-5) is within two points of Winnipeg for second place and within three points of Dallas for first. The Avs are 12-2-2 in the last 16 games, while the Jets have lost eight of their last 11. Colorado forced the hosts to pull star goalie Connor Hellebuyck at second intermission.
Picking up where they left off
Halfway through the third period last Sunday, the Avalanche trailed Edmonton 5-3.
Then in a stretch of 21:30 between their next two games, they scored on seven of their next 15 shots on goal (46.7%).
Colorado picked up in Winnipeg right where it left off in the dramatic comeback over the Oilers. Nathan MacKinnon scored 19 seconds into the game on a breakaway created by a sneaky pass from Valeri Nichushkin. There was no looking back from there.
Mikko Rantanen patiently led a 2-on-1 rush, skating so slowly that he was practically begging the defender to commit to him. But Winnipeg’s Brenden Dillon didn’t take the bait, staying locked onto J.T. Compher, who was skating backdoor. Rantanen settled for a casual snipe past Connor Hellebuyck’s high glove side. He’s up to 37 goals, and it was almost 38 if not for Compher getting a deflection on his shot later in the first period.
The Avs scored on four of their first five shots for a 4-1 lead, ending the game after 11 minutes.
Power-play change at the point
The Avalanche didn’t earn a power play until the back half of the second period, but Jared Bednar made a change when the opportunity arose.
With Cale Makar (head) out for this weekend’s back-to-back, Bo Byram replaced Devon Toews as the defenseman operating the point for Colorado’s top PP unit. He and Toews split time in that role at Friday’s practice. Byram helped facilitate a strong shift that lasted for 80 seconds of the man advantage. MacKinnon and Artturi Lehkonen both unleashed blistering shots, but Winnipeg eventually cleared the zone after Byram was unable to cleanly glove a floating puck.
Byram scored a top-shelf goal in the first period at even strength, though, giving him seven points in seven games since returning from a three-month injury.
Managing the third period before a back-to-back
The benefit of scoring four quick goals in a crucial divisional game? Colorado was able to ease off its top players in the third period, knowing what would be in store over the next 24 hours.
The Avs fly home Friday after the game and have to go through customs, then they host the Flames on Saturday.
Sam Girard (23:30) and Josh Manson (22:18) were the team leaders in ice time. Rantanen (22:49 average ice time) played just 20:22, MacKinnon (22:37 average) played just 21:36, and Toews (25:39 average) played just 20:33 on the top pairing.
