DENVER — It would have sounded ludicrous as recently as four days ago to credit the 2022-23 Avalanche with a feat of dominance equally impressive as the previous year’s team.
But the Stanley Cup-winning Avs only matched this one: a two-game stretch with a plus-10 goal differential.
Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon both scored twice, and with a faction of Red Wings fans almost outnumbering the home attendance at Ball Arena, the Avalanche tipped those scales in their favor with a commanding 6-3 win Monday afternoon. It would have been a plus-11 in the last two games if not for Detroit’s garbage-time score.
On the heels of a loss to lowly Chicago that seemed unfathomable, the Avs (22-17-3) suddenly look like their old selves. They scored the first five goals after Saturday’s 7-0 win over Ottawa, before Detroit finally beat Pavel Francouz late in the second period.
“Obviously we weren’t playing great, but it seemed like everything that could go wrong was,” Nathan MacKinnon said. “We’ve turned it around the last couple of games. Two big wins. We do have games in hand on some teams, which is big for us. We’ve got to take care of that.”
They have games in hand on Calgary and Edmonton, the two closest teams sitting above Colorado (.560) in Western Conference point percentage. An upcoming three-game road trip starts at Calgary on Wednesday.
“We’re in that position where we have to get a little bit desperate, and we have to be desperate,” Andrew Cogliano said. “We’re near where we need to be and where we want to be.”
This was the first time the Avalanche scored 10 unanswered goals since March 13-18 of last season (against Calgary, Los Angeles and San Jose), and their first time scoring a dozen unanswered since March 18-22, 2021 (against Minnesota, Minnesota and Arizona).
Fourteen different Avalanche skaters tallied a point during that 12-goal streak, including nine different forwards. After playing the first 40 games with a traditional lineup of 12 forwards and six defensemen, Colorado has gone 11 and seven in back-to-back games with rewarding results.
“I don’t favor one or the other,” coach Jared Bednar said. “I think it’s good for some guys to get a little bit of extra ice time, but it’s hard to do until you have the depth we’re starting to get now.”
Valeri Nichushkin (ankle) returned to the lineup after missing the past nine games since the holiday break. His net-front presence aided Makar’s first goal, a power play snipe from the blue line. Nichushkin was also credited with a secondary assist for his first point since Dec. 17.
That goal sent the Avalanche into the first intermission with a multi-goal lead for the second consecutive game after they had accomplished that only once in the previous 27 games.
Lehkonen struck first with his third goal in the last two games after a nine-game scoreless streak. As he released his shot, MacKinnon was mid-collision with Detroit goalie Ville Husso outside the edge of the crease. The Red Wings immediately challenged for goalie interference but failed, giving the Avalanche a lead and a power play.
It took them until their third man advantage to convert, but they finished the day 2-for-4, scoring multiple power-play goals for the first time since Dec. 1 in Buffalo (21 games ago).
Evan Rodrigues fed a wide-open J.T. Compher in the crease for the other, a promising sign for the second PP unit. Minor injuries have attempted to interfere with Rodrigues’ season, but he has recorded a point in his last nine games after a two-assist day.
Francouz started in net for the third game in a row, with Bednar continuing to give Alexandar Georgiev a breather. Francouz has saved 83 of 87 (.954) shots during this trio of games, which started with the seemingly rock-bottom dud in Chicago.
“I think that Chicago game may have been a little bit of a wake-up call for us,” Rodrigues said. “Maybe it’s something we needed.”
