Rapid Recap: Avalanche 9, Coyotes 3

The Colorado Avalanche scored five goals in a matter of 3:27 in the first period and went on to defeat the Arizona Coyotes 9-3 on Wednesday night at Ball Arena.
Joonas Donskoi scored three times during the Avs' run in the opening frame for his second career hat trick and also added an assist on Andre Burakovsky's second marker of the game late in the third period. Gabriel Landeskog tallied twice, while Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Mikko Rantanen notched markers as well. Landeskog (two goals, assist) and Rantanen (one goal, two assists) both finished with three-point nights.

The Avalanche led 5-2 after the opening period, with each of its tallies coming in the first 7:31 of the contest. It's the fastest five goals to begin a game in franchise history.
Landeskog scored his first of the night in the second period before Colorado added three more in the final frame. Nathan MacKinnon and Samuel Girard each contributed two assists apiece in the contest.
It was the first game with fans in the stands at Ball Arena since March 11, 2020 when the Avalanche won 3-2 in overtime against the New York Rangers.

THE GOALS

1st Period
4:04 COL (1-0) - Joonas Donskoi scored after Tyson Jost's shot rebounded free in the crease.
4:31 COL (2-0) - On a 2-on-1 up the ice, Andre Burakovsky found twine with a snap shot from a pass by Nazem Kadri.
4:41 ARI (2-1) - Michael Bunting got free and scored with a shot from the mid-slot.
5:36 COL (3-1) - Pierre-Edouard Bellemare took a drop pass from J.T. Compher at the left circle and buried a one-timer.
6:04 COL (4-1) - Joonas Donskoi intercepted the puck after goalie Adin Hill tried to knock it away and tallied after sneaking it between the keeper's pad and post.
7:31 COL (5-1) - PPG, Joonas Donskoi completed the hat trick with snap shot that went top shelf.
18:57 ARI (5-2) - PPG, Oliver Ekman-Larsson threw the puck on net from the point, and it hit twine after making its way through traffic.
2nd Period
17:45 ARI (5-3) - After Arizona stole the puck in the Colorado zone, Conor Garland scored with a wrist shot.
18:06 COL (6-3) - Gabriel Landeskog intercepted the puck in the neutral zone and scored on a shot that went bar-down and in.
3rd Period
6:05 COL (7-3) - PPG, Mikko Rantanen recorded his 13th goal of the month from the right circle after receiving a cross-ice feed from Nathan MacKinnon.
11:57 COL (8-3) - Gabriel Landeskog recorded his second of the game off a pass from Mikko Rantanen during a rush up the ice.
16:49 COL (9-3) - Joonas Donskoi fed Andre Burakovsky the puck during a 2-on-1 and Burakovsky tallied his second marker of the contest.
Final: Avalanche - 9 | Coyotes - 3

3 STARS

Selected by Colorado Hockey Coach of the Game: John Michalec (Arvada Hockey Association)

POWER PLAYS

Colorado: 2 for 4
Arizona: 1 for 6

GOALTENDING BATTLE

Colorado: Philipp Grubauer stopped 28 of the 31 shots he faced.
Arizona: Adin Hill faced 10 shots and allowed four goals in the first 6:04 of the game before being replaced by Ivan Prosvetov, who stoppped 23-of-28 shots.

STAT OF THE NIGHT

DonScore: Joonas Donskoi scored his second career hat trick, tallying three times in a matter of 3:27 in the first period. It was the second-fastest hat trick in franchise history behind only Alain Cote (2:17) with the Quebec Nordiques on April 1, 1982 at the Boston Bruins.
It was however the fastest hat trick to start a game in franchise history, with Donskoi getting the hats to rain from the Ball Arena stands just 7:31 after the opening faceoff. Cote previously held that record (15:46) from that 1982 contest in Boston.
Donskoi is the first Colorado player to score three goals in a period since Tomas Fleischmann on Dec. 15, 2010 (third period). His first career hat trick came on Nov. 7, 2019 versus Nashville in a game where the Avs set a franchise record with six markers in an 8:00 span in a 9-4 victory.
The Raahe, Finland, native is also on a four-game point streak (five goals, two assists) and has nine goals and six assists in the last 10 contests.

NOTEBOOK

The Avalanche scored five goals in a span of 3:27, the fastest five markers since the team moved to Denver in 1995 and the second fastest in franchise history (2:42, Quebec at Washington, Feb. 22, 1981)… The Avs and Coyotes combined for six goals in 3:27, the fifth fastest between clubs in NHL history… Colorado extended its point streak to 12 games (10-0-2), tied for the longest in the NHL this season (New York Islanders, 11-0-1, Feb. 22-March 13)… It is the first time the club hasn't had a regulation loss in 12 games since Feb. 27-March 25, 2007 (10-0-2)… The Avs improved to 9-0-1 in their last 10 contests on home ice and are now 5-1-1 after seven outings of the season series versus Arizona. The teams wrap up their annual set on April 12 in Denver… The Avalanche finished March with 12 wins and 27 points (12-2-3), the most victories and points in a single month in franchise history… Mikko Rantanen scored his 13th goal of March, the most in the NHL this past month and taking over sole possession of the second spot for the most in any month in Avs history (Joe Sakic has the most with 15 goals in March 2000)… Nathan MacKinnon is on a three-game assist/point streak (four assists).

QUOTABLE

Head coach Jared Bednar on having fans back at Ball Arena: "Even if it's only a few thousand people, it makes a difference. That's why the guys do it, they want to entertain and perform at a high level and to be back in our building and have fans in the stands cheering us on is going to be great."

BIG HIGHLIGHT

IMAGE OF THE GAME

Welcome back. You all were missed.

ROSTER REPORT

The Avs didn't make any changes to their lineup. Goaltender Philipp Grubauer started his fourth straight game in net. The team recalled Keaton Middleton and Liam O'Brien from the AHL Colorado Eagles earlier in the day after both players signed NHL contracts with the club, and the Avs reassigned Greg Pateryn from its taxi squad to Loveland. The Avalanche signed prospect Alex Newhook to a three-year, entry-level contract on Wednesday, and the forward will report to the Eagles.

INJURY UPDATE

Bowen Byram continues to skate on his own but missed his third consecutive outing with an upper-body injury. Head coach Jared Bednar said the rookie could possibly return to action this weekend. Matt Calvert (upper body) is week-to-week while Erik Johnson (upper body) and Pavel Francouz (lower body) remain out long term. Logan O'Connor left the game after the first period with a lower-body injury.

UP NEXT

The Avs wrap up their six-game homestand with a back-to-back set against the St. Louis Blues on Friday and Saturday at Ball Arena.

LINE COMBINATIONS

Based on the start of the game
Forwards
92 Gabriel Landeskog - 29 Nathan MacKinnon - 96 Mikko Rantanen
20 Brandon Saad - 91 Nazem Kadri - 95 Andre Burakovsky
13 Valeri Nichushkin - 17 Tyson Jost - 72 Joonas Donskoi
37 J.T. Compher - 41 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - 25 Logan O'Connor
Defensemen
49 Samuel Girard - 7 Devon Toews
27 Ryan Graves - 8 Cale Makar
2 Dan Renouf - 34 Jacob MacDonald
Goaltenders
31 Philipp Grubauer
35 Jonas Johansson