Lukas Dostal and the Anaheim Ducks shut down the Colorado Avalanche in an ugly 2–1 win at Ball Arena on Wednesday evening. Anaheim increased its win streak to five games, climbing up the Pacific Division standings.

Meanwhile, the Avs have now lost two of their last three games. Once again, they couldn’t find the extra point beyond regulation and had their issues.

View From the Mountaintop

For the first 20 minutes, the game was simply existing. Going through the motions, both teams never really had it in them and didn’t get any good looks on net. In the middle frame, Anaheim finally broke through with Jeffery Viel, but the game still had little going for it. Colorado had some more chances, particularly with Ross Colton. Perhaps the biggest missed chance of all was Zakhar Bardakov, all alone in front, hitting the post. Even afterwards, he couldn’t finish his rebound.

Overall, it was simply ugly all around. The Avs outshot the Ducks all night long, but never got a ton of promising chances. It was a Joel Quenville special, getting his players behind the puck and in the way. Anaheim’s defense kept Colorado to the outside most of the evening, preventing sustained pressure. But they couldn’t get a lot of momentum going and had too many blunders with the puck. Dostal was also brilliant in the crease, making 39 saves in the win.

After Brock Nelson assisted Artturi Lehkonen, finally beating him, he shut them down in overtime and in the shootout. Puck possession was hard for Colorado all night long, with multiple turnovers in the extra frame, particularly from Nathan MacKinnon. He and the rest of the team were lethargic all night long, making it a not-so-fun mid-January game. For the first time all season, the Avs simply looked disinterested. They’re still in an excellent spot and have chances to bounce back coming up.

Up Next

Colorado will play in the seventh and final game of the season-long home stand on Friday night. They’ll do so against the Philadelphia Flyers while celebrating the 2001 Stanley Cup-winning team. Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m. MT. Altitude 2 Sports will broadcast the game.