TORONTO — A few of the newest relics in the Hockey Hall of Fame include a jersey worn by Nathan MacKinnon in the 2022 Stanley Cup-clinching game, a prestigious trophy with a spot reserved for Cale Makar’s engraved name and a burgundy-bejeweled ring.
The reminders of Colorado’s accomplishment last season are resting behind glass two blocks away from Scotiabank Arena, where this season’s Avs encountered one of their last major tests of the 2022-23 regular season Wednesday. If they hope to repeat, there’s a chance they’ll have to go through Toronto again. Nobody would complain about a rubber match after the Avalanche’s captivating 2-1 shootout win.
“Tight checking game. Really tough to create scoring chances for both teams,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “I think when you saw a breakdown, it’s because top end players were creating something out of nothing.”
Alexandar Georgiev saved all three of the Maple Leafs’ shootout attempts, and Nathan MacKinnon provided the only breakthrough, going five-hole against Ilya Samsonov. It’s the same way MacKinnon scored his last shootout goal, against Seattle in January. He generally favors the high glove side.
“He’s a world-class player,” Georgiev said. “He’s awesome.”
Overtime, sometimes an overly timid stalemate in the 3-on-3 era, was riveting here. Both offenses remained aggressive. Both defenses were clutch. Valeri Nichushkin nearly scored a rebound winner. Michael Bunting hit a crossbar for the Leafs.
“I think just the skill on both sides. Try to attack instead of defend, and try to make plays,” said Mikko Rantanen, who scored his 44th goal. “A couple turnovers there, and 2-on-1s both ways. But both goalies played well. We were glad Georgi was just an inch better.”
With 16 games to go, the Avs (37-22-6) possess the No. 31 remaining strength of schedule in the league. This Toronto matchup was their last of the regular season vs. any of the Eastern Conference’s six juggernauts. They finished 4-6-2 against those six, including a lopsided loss to the Leafs in December at Ball Arena.
Toronto has morphed a lot since then. In a historically aggressive trade deadline, general manager Kyle Dubas acquired Ryan O’Reilly, Luke Schenn (both out vs. Colorado), Noel Acciari, Jake McCabe, Sam Lafferty and Erik Gustafsson, revamping an already-outstanding team.
“They’ve been a great team the last few years,” Bednar said. “They’re a great team again. And now they just got deeper.”
Meanwhile, the Avalanche’s more tepid deadline was accompanied by another recent injury, this time to top-line wing Artturi Lehkonen on Monday in Montreal. It left the organization scrambling for a mid-road trip call-up. Alex Galchenyuk was the verdict, but he only played 3:22 on Alex Newhook’s fourth line.
So Bednar was essentially rolling with 11 forwards, while the Maple Leafs used a lineup of 11 with seven defensemen. A stingy battle between defenses unfolded, and the Avalanche had still limited Toronto to just 12 shots on goal through two periods.
“Both teams were ready to go defensively,” Avs blueliner Bo Byram said. “That was definitely a key for us. … They’ve got some guys that can fly and shoot the puck, and they all see the ice well.”
The penalty kill units stepped up. Colorado scored on its first power play with a bit of puck luck — a Rantanen pass redirected off a defender and between Samsonov’s legs — but then the Leafs locked the door. An Avalanche power play that had scored on five consecutive opportunities suddenly went silent in its last four tries.
At the other end, Toronto went 0 for 3, bringing Colorado’s penalty kill rate to 95.2% (20 for 21) in the last seven games and 89.6% (43 for 48) in the last 16.
“I thought the mobility of their defense was a real problem for us,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said. “… Makar plays half the game here tonight, and he’s not giving you a whole lot, and then he gets the puck on a shift — usually, you’re losing the shift.”
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