After their comeback victory to beat the Dallas Stars on their own ice, the Colorado Avalanche returned home to take on the Minnesota Wild. It was the fourth meeting of the two teams this season. The Avalanche were 1–1–1 in the previous three games against the Wild. Minnesota came into the game in third place in the Central Division, nine points behind the Avalanche and only two points behind the second-place Dallas Stars. The Wild were 8–2–0 in their previous ten games.

Of course, the bigger news was the return of Nazem Kadri, acquired by the Avalanche in a last-minute trade at the deadline. Shortly before the game, the team also reported that Gabriel Landeskog would miss week-to-week because of a lower-body injury. Bednar bumped Nichushkin to the top line and slotted Kadri in at wing on the second line. It was also Necas’ five-hundredth game. Scott Wedgewood started in net.

View from the Mountaintop

Less than two minutes into the first period, Quinn Hughes crosschecked Nichushkin in the corner, giving the Avalanche their first power play of the afternoon. The Avalanche recorded four shots on goal during the power play but failed to convert. During a pause in play, the Avalanche played a tribute video welcoming Kadri home. The Ball Arena crowd responded appropriately.

The Avalanche received a second power play opportunity a few minutes later when Zach Bogosian went to the box for hooking Josh Manson, but they failed to notch even a single shot on goal. They skated to a 0–0 tie into the first intermission.

Early in the second period, the Avalanche had a third try on the power play after Ryan Hartman went to the box for high-sticking Nazem Kadri. Once again, the Avalanche failed to record a shot on goal. A few minutes later, Nicolas Roy went to the box for high-sticking Bogosian, giving Minnesota their first chance with a man advantage. Brock Nelson had a short-handed breakaway, but failed to convert. Later in the same power play, Parker Kelly had another short-handed chance. Although neither team scored, it was undeniable that the Avalanche’s penalty kill created more scoring opportunities than their power plays had.

The Avalanche finally broke through at 12:19 of the second when Nazem Kadri picked up a stray puck behind the net. He passed it to Nathan MacKinnon, who was skating toward the crease across the left circle. MacKinnon easily put the puck past Jesper Wallstedt to put the Avalanche up 1–0.

At 4:13 of the third period, Ross Colton went to the box for slashing Hartman. It took only four seconds for Kirill Kaprizov to score his thirty-sixth goal of the season, tying the game at one. Only one minute and four seconds later, Yakov Trenin slashed Cale Makar, resulting in another power play for the Avalanche. It was the perfect opportunity for them to reclaim the lead. Instead, they gave up a short-handed rush to Nico Sturm, who scored to put the Wild up 2–1. A few minutes later, Kaprizov slashed Makar, resulting in the Avalanche’s fifth power play of the day. Once again, the Avalanche failed to convert. Luckily, a couple of the newest Avalanche players came to the rescue. At 12:39 of the third, Kulak took a shot at the net. Nicolas Roy tipped it in, tying the game 2–2.

The revolving door on the penalty box continued when Nichushkin slashed Kaprizov at 14:58. Minnesota amassed three shots on goal, but Scott Wedgewood came up big for the Avalanche, keeping the score tied and sending the game to overtime.

Overtime and Shootout

The Avalanche mostly dominated play through overtime, but with 1:03 left to play, MacKinnon went to the box for interference. Luckily, the Avalanche killed that penalty, taking the game to a shootout. Each team had one goal in the first three rounds of the shootout. MacKinnon won the game for the Avalanche in round four of the shootout.

Takeaways

It’s been discussed before, but the Avalanche will fail in the playoffs if they don’t fix their power play. They had five power-play opportunities. A goal in any of them would have kept the game from going into overtime. Not only did they fail to score on any of them, but they also gave up a short-handed goal. This is arguably the most talented collection of hockey players on the planet, and yet they can’t find the net when it matters most. Luckily, the Avalanche still won this game.

Up Next

The Edmonton Oilers come to town to face the Avalanche on Tuesday, March 10 at 8:00 pm MDT. HBO MAX, truTV, and TNT will broadcast the game.