What looked like another dominating night from the Avalanche through 20 minutes quickly shifted into a slower-paced game and a solid goaltending performance.
Colorado got two goals from Ross Colton on Sunday and went on to defeat the San Jose Sharks 4-1 on the road. It’s the Avs’ second straight victory after starting the season with four consecutive losses.
Colton continued to impress both on the power play and playing the wing with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen at even strength. The 28-year-old has six goals on the season and is just one back of Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov for the most in the NHL. On his first tally, Colton finished a one-timer in the bumper position off a feed from MacKinnon on the PP, a similar goal to others he’s already had this season. And later in the period, Colton used his speed to break through two defensemen, collecting a pass from Mikko Rantanen, and placing it top shelf past goalie Vitek Vanecek to make it 2-0.
Colorado gave up a power-play goal to the Sharks a couple of minutes later as the PK continued to struggle. It was just the fifth shot the Sharks had all game. Goaltender Justus Annunen, in his first start, hadn’t seen much action before that goal. But that all changed in the second period.
Joel Kiviranta added a tally in the third before Cale Makar capped off a three-point night with an empty-net goal.
The Sharks outshot the Avs 26-22 but Annunen didn’t give up another goal the rest of the way. Easy decision for tonight’s ‘Good’ if you ask me.
Good: Justus Annunen
It felt like this game was going to be a repeat of the dominating performance against Anaheim two nights prior. But with the shift in momentum, Colorado needed a goalie to make saves and Annunen was solid in doing that. The 24-year-old made 25 stops to earn the victory. It was a nice change from all the drama and commentary surrounding the Avalanche’s poor goaltending and specifically, Alexandar Georgiev. And it’s also nice to see head coach Jared Bednar finally turn to his backup.
I still believe Annunen’s poor relief performance against Columbus is the main reason why he didn’t get a start until now. I also think, like late last year, the Avs do an excellent job of sheltering their backup. The Sharks are coming off a last-place finish in the NHL and are one of two teams remaining without a win. He didn’t exactly have to face the Vegas Golden Knights or Boston Bruins. But given the penalty trouble the Avs got into in the second period, he still deserves credit for locking things down.
The Avs ultimately got the first goal early in the first period and didn’t relinquish it the rest of the way. Annunen deserves his flowers for playing his part in that.
Bad: Will Smith
With Macklin Celebrini still on the shelf with an injury, I was genuinely excited to see Will Smith in action. But he was quite invisible.
It’s a nice reminder that not every talented young player steps into the league and lights it up right away. I’ll never forget Connor Bedard coming to Denver for the Avs’ home opener last year. Colorado won 4-0 and Bedard barely touched the puck all night. And that’s a kid who’s going to be a star in this league for a long, long time.
I do feel for the Sharks. It’s not an easy rebuild. But with the veterans they’ve added in recent years, I thought it would help the young guys get going a little bit quicker. Five games, and zero points for Smith so far. Against the Avs, he had one shot and was a -1 in 14:43 of ice time. Welcome to the NHL, kid. Playing against Makar must be a nightmare.