ELMONT, NY – Given the Avs are as concerned with the process as the results this early in the season, they will focus on the defensive mistakes and the prolonged stretch of play where they were second-best in the middle period Tuesday night.
While they are pinpointing areas of improvement, it is still important to point out just how dominant this team continues to look at the start of this 2023-24 campaign. Sure, there were things to clean up, but the Avalanche also set an NHL record with its 15th consecutive regular-season road win, moving to 6-0 this year with a 7-4 win against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena.
“We know our chances are going to come from the way we play and our personnel, and we just need to be sharper defensively,” center Ryan Johansen, who scored twice, said. “It’s not like it’s lasting a real long time or anything, but we’re just having these spurts where we’re having some early-season growing pains. Without using that as an excuse, we do need to get better,”
This was Alexandar Georgiev’s worst game of the young season, but he made a couple of big saves in the third period to preserve the lead and won for a league-leading sixth time. Colorado’s penalty kill yielded a goal early in the second period, but then negated New York’s next four extra-man chances including a four-minute opportunity in the third.
The Avs yielded the lead three times, and fell behind for much of the second period. They also beat one of the best goalies in the NHL five times, Mikko Rantanen had his second four-point night of the season and Cale Makar had three as well, including one of the best goals any defenseman will score this year.
“I think we have some of the best players in the world,” defenseman Bo Byram said. “But in all honesty, our leaders have really been doing a great job. Those guys drive the bus, and whenever we’re down and out, they always seem to come up with a big play.”
Tomas Tatar blocked a shot near the point in the defensive end, collected the puck and found Rantanen with a cross-ice pass off the rush for the eventual game-winning tally in the third period. Rantanen leads the Avs with five goals and 12 points in six games.
The Avalanche also racked up 40 shots on goal against one of the better defensive teams in the league, while Sorokin made several great stops early in the game.
Much of the second period would fall into the not great category for the Avs. There haven’t been many stretches of play through the first six games of the season where Colorado scuffled, but the first 18 minutes of the middle stanza signified the most prolonged period to date.
Kyle Palmieri scored from in tight on the power play and Simon Holmstrom beat Georgiev from the high slot to give the Islanders a 3-2 lead. But it didn’t take long for the Avs to grab it right back.
Bryam scored his first goal of the season with 42 seconds left in the period after the Islanders decided not to cover him at the top of the offensive zone. MacKinnon followed with a goal 13.2 seconds later and Colorado was back in front.
“It was a shooter’s night for me on both sides of it,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “As the game went on, it didn’t seem like there were many chances, but they were all going in the net. It was a little bit of a strange game, but I did like how we bounced back at the end of the second period and capitalized on a few (chances) to secure the win.”
The Avs did produce a dominant 20 minutes to start the game. Colorado had 10 of the first 11 shots on goal and an 18-6 advantage at the end of the period.
Johansen scored a power-play goal early in the period, and Makar followed with a highlight-reel goal, maneuvering around Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock and uncorking a hard backhand shot off the crossbar and in.
Johansen and Ross Colton added empty-net goals to seal the victory. It was Johansen’s first multi-goal game for the Avs, and Colton’s first in a Colorado uniform.
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