Rapid Recap: Avalanche 4, Blues 2

The Colorado Avalanche returned to game action and picked up a 4-2 win against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday to clinch a playoff spot for the fourth straight year.
Nathan MacKinnon had three assists, Andre Burakovsky scored twice and Gabriel Landeskog also had a multi-point outing with two helpers in the win.
Brandon Saad tallied his 15th of the year by scoring Colorado's first goal of the game, and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare added his seventh of the season into an empty net to seal the win for the Avalanche. Goalie Devan Debnyk stopped 25-of-27 shots.
The Avs are the second NHL team to secure a place in the 2021 postseason. Colorado's fourth consecutive trip to the playoffs is the longest streak for the franchise since making 11 straight trips from 1995 to 2006. The only other time the club reached the playoffs in four or more consecutive years was a seven-season run from 1981 to 1987 as the Nordiques.

Jaden Schwartz scored both St. Louis goals while Jordan Binnington made 25 saves on 28 shots. The Avalanche and Blues play again on Saturday afternoon at Enterprise Center.

THE GOALS

1st Period
3:18 STL (0-1) - PPG, Jaden Schwartz scored with a one-timer from the slot while the Blues were on the power play.
19:28 COL (1-1) - Colorado sustained pressure in the offensive zone and Tyson Jost found Brandon Saad alone in the slot, and Saad scored with a backhander that went five-hole.
2nd Period
6:45 COL (2-1) - PPG, Cale Makar's shot from the point bounced off the end boards and to Andre Burakovsky, who scored his 13th of the season from the side of the crease.
3rd Period
11:29 COL (3-1) - Andre Burakovsky recorded his second goal of the game after receiving a pass from Gabriel Landeskog.
13:43 STL (3-2) - Jaden Schwartz scored his second of the game with a shot from the left circle that bounced into the net.
18:29 COL (4-2) - Pierre-Edouard Bellemare tallied into an empty net. Gabriel Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon assisted on the goal.
Final: Avalanche - 4 | Blues - 2

3 STARS

Selected by St. Louis media

POWER PLAYS

Colorado: 1 for 5
St. Louis: 1 for 5

GOALTENDING BATTLE

Colorado: Devan Dubnyk made his second start with Colorado and stopped 25-of-27 shots.
St. Louis: Jordan Binnington allowed three goals on 28 shots.

STAT OF THE NIGHT

Nathan MacKinnon recorded three assists to extend his point streak to 12 games (seven goals, 14 assists), the longest active streak in the NHL.
It is his fourth point streak of 12 or more games in the regular season. Only two other players in Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques history have registered more such runs of at least 12 contests (Peter Stastny, eight times; Joe Sakic, five times).

NOTEBOOK

Colorado clinched a spot in the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs with the win. The Avs are the second team in the NHL to secure a berth in the postseason after the Vegas Golden Knights did so on Wednesday... Tyson Jost extended his career long assist/point streak to five games with a helper on Brandon Saad's first period tally… Cale Makar had an assist to extend his point streak to four outings (five assists)… Saad scored to push his goal/point streak to three contests... Andre Burakovsky had two goals in the win, his second multi-goal game this season... Patrik Nemeth was the 15th different D-man to play for the Avalanche this year. The only season in franchise history to feature more was 2010-11 when 16 defensemen dressed in a game for Colorado… Jared Bednar coached his 360th career NHL game, passing Bob Hartley for the most games coached in Avalanche history (since 1995-96). Bednar trails only Michel Bergeron (634 with the Quebec Nordiques) for the most games in franchise history. He owns a 176-145-39 career record, ranking second in wins to only Hartley's 193 since the team relocated... The Avalanche played its first game since April 14 at the Blues. Thursday's contest was the first of a three between the Avs and Blues in St. Louis, marking the first time that Colorado/Quebec has ever played four straight road games against the same opponent.

BIG HIGHLIGHT

ROSTER REPORT

Patrik Nemeth made his season debut with Colorado after the team acquired him from the Detroit Red Wings on April 9. He began the game on a defensive pairing with Conor Timmins, while Devon Toews and Samuel Girard made up a duo and Ryan Graves and Cale Makar were the other set of D-men. Up front, Andre Burakovsky moved to the first line with Gabriel Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon with Mikko Rantanen out of the lineup. Martin Kaut played his second game of the season on a trio with Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Liam O'Brien. J.T. Compher began the outing on the second trio with Carl Soderberg and Nazem Kadri, while the line of Brandon Saad, Tyson Jost and Valeri Nichushkin remained the same. Goaltender Devan Dubnyk started his second game as a member of the Avalanche and was backed up by Jonas Johansson.

INJURY UPDATE

Logan O'Connor is on the trip with the Avalanche and could return from his lower-body injury in the next few games. Bowen Byram can resume skating on Friday after being removed from the COVID-19 protocol list on Monday and stayed in Denver to receive more conditioning time. Mikko Rantanen is in the NHL's COVID protocol but may be able to join the team on the four-game trip. Joonas Donskoi and Philipp Gruabuer are out with COVID protocol-related absences. Matt Calvert remains week-to-week with an upper body injury. Erik Johnson (upper body) is out for at least the rest of the regular season and Pavel Francouz (lower body) will miss the rest of the year.

UP NEXT

The Avalanche continues its road trip with an afternoon game against the Blues on Saturday at 1 p.m. MT. The matchup will be broadcast on NBC in the United States.

LINE COMBINATIONS

Based on start of the game
Forwards
92 Gabriel Landeskog - 29 Nathan MacKinnon - 96 Mikko Rantanen
34 Carl Soderberg - 91 Nazem Kadri - 37 J.T. Compher
20 Brandon Saad - 17 Tyson Jost - 13 Valeri Nichushkin
38 Liam O'Brian - 41 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - 61 Martin Kaut
Defensemen
7 Devon Toews - 49 Samuel Girard
27 Ryan Graves - 8 Cale Makar
24 Patrik Nemeth - 22 Conor Timmins
Goaltenders
40 Devan Dubnyk
35 Jonas Johansson