Avalanche Stay Hot with Fifth-Straight Win After Beating Red Wings

Feisty five.
The Colorado Avalanche stayed in the win column as they picked up their fifth-consecutive victory after topping the Detroit Red Wings 5-1 at Little Caesars Arena. The Avalanche completed a four-game road trip (4-0-0)and are now 39-22-6 for their season record and rank third in the Central Division standings.

For the Avalanche, Devon Toews, Nathan MacKinnon (1G, 2A), Lars Eller and Mikko Rantanen scored at even strength, while Bowen Byram found the back of the net on the power play. Cale Makar handed out three assists. Eleven different skaters recorded at least a point. In net, Alexandar Georgiev turned aside 33 of the 34 shots he faced.
For the Red Wings, Pius Suter scored the team's lone goal. Ville Husso made 16 saves on 21 shots through 45:16 minutes, before Magnus Hellberg replaced him in the third period and made two saves on as many shots in 14:44 minutes.

GAME SUMMARY:

The Avalanche are heading back to Denver on a high after completing their four-game road trip with eight of eight possible points and thus, extending their win streak to five games. Saturday afternoon's matchup against Detroit showcased a strong effort from the Avalanche, who despite facing pushes from a desperate Red Wings' squad, were able to manage them and capitalize on their chances instead.
Following the first period of play at Little Caesars Arena, Colorado and Detroit skated out to a 1-1 score. The Avalanche drew the game's icebreaker just 5:01 into play, but allowed the Red Wings to get on the board at 6:55. Colorado was outshot 16-6 in the opening frame as they also took two penalties at 8:56 (Lars Eller for slashing) and at 14:58 (Rantanen for interference).

The Avalanche got on the board at 5:01 on a quick zone entry led by Cale Makar, who sent a quick pass out to J.T. Compher. The centerman dropped a pass to the point for Toews, who unleashed a one-timer on net. The shot sailed through Valeri Nichushkin's netfront screen and past Husso to give Colorado a 1-0 lead.
The Red Wings ushered a quick response just under two minutes later as Dylan Larkin recovered possession of the puck along the boards from an offensive zone faceoff. Larkin sent a pass into the circle for Suter, who picked his spot and wired his shot to the far side past Georgiev's blocker for the 1-1 equalizer.
Colorado came out with a dominant effort in the second period as the team extended its lead 3-0 and held a 12-8 edge in shots.
MacKinnon restored the lead to the Avalanche at 7:23. As Makar sent an outlet pass into the neutral zone - for his second assist of the night - Denis Malgin chipped the puck out to the offensive zone for MacKinnon to skate onto. The centerman stickhandled through three Detroit skaters and fired a shot on the fly past Husso's right arm to up Colorado's lead 2-1.

The game took a chippy turn as Simon Edvinsson - who made his NHL debut for the Red Wings - gave the Avalanche their first power play at 12:00 after being called for tripping. While the Avalanche didn't convert on that power play, the team capitalized on a 4-on-3 power play that they received a few minutes later.
At 15:49, Jake Walman and Rantanen - who had been scuffling all game - were each penalized; Rantanen for holding Seider which sparked a full-ice scrum in which Walman was called for roughing. Just under a minute into the sequence of 4v4, the Red Wings were knocked down a skater as Robert Hagg tripped Alex Newhook at 16:46.
The Avalanche's four-man power play unit went to work. MacKinnon fired a one timer from the left faceoff circle that deflected off Husso's mask and into the glass. Colorado corralled the puck and restarted its zone cycle. This time with Makar setting up Byram at the right faceoff circle where the blueliner blasted a one timer to the far netting past Husso at 17:37 to give the Avalanche a 3-1 lead heading into the final 20 minutes of play.

In the final frame of action, the Avalanche extended their score 5-1 with two-quick strikes early on and were able to lock down the game for the remaining minutes of regulation.
Despite facing an early push from the Red Wings - who received a power play at 2:35 - the Avalanche not only survived it - with Georgeiv making a clutch pad save on Alex Chiasson - but responded with a shorthanded goal to take a 4-1 lead at 4:20.
Eller showed tenacity as he forechecked three Detroit skaters in their own zone. He managed to strip the puck away from Filip Zadina. In doing so, the puck sprung free in the slot and Nichushkin skated in and unleashed a shot at Husso. The netminder made the stop, but then Eller cleaned up the rebound.

Less than a minute later, the Colorado's top line executed a beautiful tic-tac-toe sequence as MacKinnon carried the puck into the offensive zone. He sent a pass up to the inside of the right faceoff circle for Evan Rodrigues, who snapped a feed to the backdoor for an easy tap-in by Rantanen.

With the Avalanche's fifth goal, the Red Wings replaced Husso in net with Hellberg.
Colorado received another power play late at 7:05 in the third period, but didn't convert.

NOTEWORTHY:

• Toews scored his fifth goal of the season.
• MacKinnon notched his 30th goal of the season, which marked the fifth time in his career he has reached the 30-goal mark. The goal also marked MacKinnon's third game-winning goal of the season. The centerman extended his point streak to eight games where he's produced 15 points (6G, 9A) in that span.
• Byram buried his seventh goal of the season and second on the power play.
• Eller scored his ninth goal of the season and now has goals in back-to-back games.
• Rantanen recorded his team-leading 46th goal of the season. The Finnish winger extended his point streak to seven games where he compiled 11 points (4G, 7A) in that span.
• With three assists, Makar extended his point streak to eight games where the blueliner has totaled 16 points (3G, 13A) in that stretch.
• Georgiev made his 50th start of the season for the Avalanche and improved his record to 31-14-5
• Colorado finished the game 1-for-3 on the power play and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.
• Artturi Lehkonen (upper body), Kurtis MacDermid (lower body), Pavel Francouz (lower body) and Josh Manson (lower body) were scratches for the Avalanche.

NEXT GAME:

The Avalanche return to Denver for a three-game homestand which begins on Monday night as they host Chicago. The puck drops between the Avs and Blackhawks at 7:00 p.m. MT.