Nathan MacKinnon’s 2 Goals Power Avalanche Past Bruins – The Hockey Writers Colorado Avalanche Latest News, Analysis & More

The Boston Bruins traveled to Colorado to take on the Avalanche. Boston suffered a loss to the Vegas Golden Knights and the Avalanche went on a two-game winning streak. The Avalanche squeaked by the Bruins, but it wasn’t easy.

Summary of the game

First period

Just under four minutes into the period, the Bruins were on the board and drew first blood in Colorado. After a turnover in the neutral zone, the Bruins went on the attack. The fourth line went to work with relentless pressure and good forecheck. A good play along the boards by Johnny Beecher moved the puck to the blue line. A great cross-ice pass was made by Mason Lohrei to Charlie McAvoy, who made a slap pass to Beecher for the tap-in goal. Like the Bruins, the Avalanche scored on their first shot of the game.

After seeing David Pastrnak turn the puck over in the neutral zone, Nathan MacKinnon took the open ice given to him and slid a backhand shot past Jeremy Swayman. At 9:38, the Avalanche struck again and on their second shot of the game. An offensive zone faceoff win from Gabriel Landeskog found its way to Josh Manson, who hit a slap shot to make it 2-1. It was a cleanly played period until the 6:08 mark, but the Avalanche shut down the Bruins’ power play to preserve their lead. A late Avalanche power play led to nothing and the Avalanche took a 2-1 lead into the second period.

It was one offensively a very low event period. The Bruins generated just 0.16 expected goals during five-on-five play, compared to 0.54 for the Avalanche. Neither team could generate anything of high quality, and it came down to capitalizing on the chances they had.

Second Period

There was no scoring in the second period, but it was dominated by the Avalanche. Thanks to the Bruins’ brutal penalty kill, which killed three power plays in that span. But even in five-on-five play, the Bruins broke down and dominated.

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The Avalanche managed to outscore the Bruins 17-2 overall and 13-2 during five-on-five play. Additionally, the Avalanche generated 1.18 expected goals during five-on-five play, which really set the pace of the game. Without Swayman in net, it would have been a much bigger deficit.

Third Period

The Avalanche added the insurance marker early in the third period. After seeing the Bruins mismanage the puck in the offensive zone, the Avalanche went on the attack. MacKinnon entered the zone at lightning speed and as he pushed the puck under the goal line, Artturi Lehkonen gave him a pass that he buried in front of the goal without any doubt. The Bruins had more excitement, but they had no answer for Scott Wedgewood. The Avalanche topped it off with an empty net goal from Martin Necas to make it 4-1 and won their third straight game.