It’s hard to assess the Avalanche’s performance in Wednesday’s 2-1 shootout loss to the Anaheim Ducks at Ball Arena.
On one hand, they absolutely poured it on the Ducks, outshooting them 41-16. But their play with the puck wasn’t as strong as the shot count suggested. They often fumbled the puck or overpassed. Their high-danger looks weren’t as common as you would expect.
Dostal made several big saves. But had it not been for the Avalanche’s incredible play defensively, it might’ve been a game that didn’t make it to overtime.
Artturi Lehkonen had Colorado’s lone tally, tying the game up with 3:39 remaining to secure a point in the standings. The Avalanche fell to 34-5-9 on the season and 5-3-2 in their last 10 games.
“I didn’t love the way our back end moved the puck in the first period,” said head coach Jared Bednar. The Avs outshot Anaheim 9-4 in the first and 32-13 the rest of the way. “So I didn’t think our offense was doing a whole bunch.”
Overall, it was a 41-17 shot advantage for the Avalanche. Aside from their goal, Anaheim’s two best looks was a scramble in the crease late in the third and an overtime breakaway in the dying second after a Nathan MacKinnon giveaway. Scott Wedgewood made 15 saves, Lucas Dostal countered with 40.
“They had nothing. I mean, I think they just dumped the puck for 40 minutes,” Wedgewood said. “I felt like I had more touches with my stick than I made saves.”
The opening tally came from the Ducks early in the second period. The Avs had the puck in the offensive zone before a turnover sent the rush the other way. Sam Malinski was the one who lost it, but both Victor Olofsson and MacKinnon were trailing behind the shooter. Neither covered him.
As a result, Jeffrey Viel received a pass from Cutter Gauthier, and had an open look at the goal. He used the Avalanche defender as a screen and beat Wedgewood for his second goal in three games with the Ducks.
That was the only tally in the second, but the chances were there for Colorado. The best look came from Zakhar Bardakov, who was one-on-one with Dostal in the crease and had two chances to whack it home.
Ross Colton also had two great looks and was robbed both times. On the second one, Gavin Brindley made a spectacular play on the forecheck to retrieve the puck. With two Ducks defenders on him, Brindley sent a pass from the half wall to Colton in the slot. Dostal made an incredible save but the Avs got a power play out of it.
It was their second PP of the game, and like the first one, didn’t lead to much, if any, opportunities. The top unit passed the puck around the perimeter and made a couple of lackadaisical passes that sent the puck out of the zone. The second period ended with Anaheim up 1-0.
It took 15 third-period shots and 56:21 of total game time for the Avs to finally score. Lehkonen, off a nice feed from Brock Nelson, scored on a one-timer to knot things up and keep the Avalanche from getting shut out.
Dostal had made an insane amount of Grade-A saves to that point. Moments before the goal, MacKinnon was set up for one of his vintage one-timers from the left circle with a clear look at the net. Dostal moved from left to right at the last moment to make the save.
MacKinnon slammed his stick on the glass mid-play in frustration. That was the type of night it was to that point.
Lehkonen’s tally was the 34th shot of the game for Colorado, and Anaheim was stuck at 13.
But on their 14th shot, the Ducks got the puck past Wedgewood. He made a save, and the puck bounced up and over him with just over a minute left.
Wedgewood turned and tried to get to the rebound, but Olofsson came to the rescue, poking it away on the goal line.
The Avs had three shots in OT, but Dostal made some big stops. Nelson had the best opportunity.
In the shootout, both Nelson and Martin Necas were stopped. The Ducks scored on two of three shots.
Good: Lehkonen Gets Another
Bednar shifted Lehkonen to the second line for this game and elevated Olofsson to the top line alongside MacKinnon and Necas.
After the game, he noted that Lehkonen had been fighting it a little bit in recent weeks. But this is now two consecutive games with a goal for Lehkonen, and both were key tallies. On Monday, his tally made it 4-2 against a Capitals team that was pressing for a game-tying goal.
And in this one, his goal forced OT and kept the Avs from falling in regulation.
Bad: Malinski Turnover
Ever since Devon Toews went down, Malinski has played alongside Cale Makar on the top pair. He’s done an admirable job. He’s since seen his ice time rise and has played against tougher competition.
But with an elevated role comes more responsibility. Neither team had much going for them through the first two periods. Colorado had a 20-10 shot advantage and a few good looks (I’m looking at you Colton). But the only goal through 40 minutes came off a turnover from Malinski.
The Avs had the puck deep in the Ducks end. Malinski turned it over, and the opposition scored on the rush. Viel also used Malinski as a screen, shooting the puck through the Avalanche’s defender’s legs to beat Wedgewood.
Bednar eventually swapped Malinski and Samuel Girard.
