Rapid Recap: Avalanche 6, Blues 3 (Game 2)

Nathan MacKinnon had three goals and an assist to lead the Colorado Avalanche to a 6-3 win over the St. Louis Blues at Ball Arena on Wednesday. The Avs now have a 2-0 lead in the best-of seven series in Round 1.
MacKinnon's playoff hat trick was the fourth in Avalanche history and 10th in franchise history. His four points tied his career high for the postseason.
Joonas Donskoi (two goals, one assist), Gabriel Landeskog (two assists) and Mikko Rantanen (two assists) also had multi-point efforts in the win. Brandon Saad also scored while five Avs picked up a helper. Goaltender Philipp Grubauer made 32 saves.
Sammy Blais, Brayden Schenn and Mike Hoffman all scored for the Blues, and defenseman Torey Krug had two assists.

The series now moves to St. Louis for Games 3 and 4, which will take place on Friday and Sunday at Enterprise Center.

THE GOALS

1st Period
0:35 COL (1-0) - Colorado took the early lead after Joonas Donskoi tipped Ryan Graves' shot from the point into the cage.
18:05 COL (2-0) - PPG, Nathan MacKinnon shot the puck through Gabriel Landeskog's legs and scored near-side while on the power play.
2nd Period
3:14 COL (3-0) - PPG, Nathan MacKinnon's shot from the point found twine after deflecting off of Joonas Donskoi at the top of the crease.
16:17 STL (3-1) - Sammy Blais scored from behind the goal line as the puck bounced off of Philipp Grubauer and in.
3rd Period
10:07 STL (3-2) - PPG, Tyler Bozak's shot went off of Philipp Grubauer's pad and right to Brayden Schenn, who scored in the low slot.
15:25 COL (4-2) - Nathan MacKinnon scored his second of the game with a shot from the blue line that got through traffic.
15:40 STL (4-3) - Mike Hoffman's shot from the left circle trickled into the net.
17:51 COL (5-3) - ENG, Brandon Saad sent the puck into an empty net from just in front of the Avalanche bench.
19:48 COL (6-3) - ENG, Nathan MacKinnon completed the hat trick with a goal into an empty net.
Final: Avalanche - 6 | Blues - 3

3 STARS

Selected by Colorado Hockey Coach of the Game: Jordan Pietrus (TPH Center of Excellence)

POWER PLAYS

Colorado: 2 for 2
St. Louis: 1 for 2

GOALTENDING BATTLE

Colorado: Philipp Grubauer made 32-of-35 saves.
St. Louis: Jordan Binnington allowed four goals on 33 shots.

STAT OF THE NIGHT

Joonas Donskoi's goal 35 seconds after the opening faceoff was the fastest to start a game in Avalanche history (since 1995-96). The previous mark was 59 seconds by Peter Forsberg in Game 2 of the 1996 Western Conference Quarterfinals versus the Vancouver Canucks (April 18, 1996) and Rob Blake in Game 3 of the 2002 Western Conference Quarterfinals at the San Jose Sharks (May 6, 2002).
The tally was the second fastest from the start of a playoff contest in Avalanche/Nordiques franchise history. The record of 29 seconds was set by Quebec's Wilf Paiement in Game 2 of the 1982 division final against the Boston Bruins.

NOTEBOOK

Joonas Donskoi had two goals and an assist, tying his career high. He also had three points (one goal, two assists) on April 16, 2018 with the San Jose Sharks against the Anaheim Ducks… It was the second time in the postseason that Donskoi has scored twice in a game with the first occurrence coming in his rookie season on April 22, 2016 with the Sharks against the Los Angeles Kings…. Nathan MacKinnon had three goals and an assist to post his second consecutive three-point game and increase his career totals to 61 playoff points (25 goals, 36 assists) in 42 postseason games... MacKinnon's 61 playoff points are now the fifth most in Avalanche history. Among players to debut with the franchise, only two hit 60 career postseason points in 50 games or fewer: Peter Stastny (40 games) and Joe Sakic (41 games)... MacKinnon's hat trick was his first in the postseason and Colorado's first since Valeri Kamesnky had one on April 24, 1997 versus the Chicago Blackhawks... In total, it was the 10th hat trick in Colorado/Quebec franchise history and the fourth in Avalanche history... The Avalanche went 2-for-2 on the power play and now has three man-advantage markers this postseason, tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning for the most in the NHL. Including the eight meetings between the clubs in the regular season, Colorado has 16 power-play goals in 10 outings against St. Louis... The Avalanche now leads the best-of-seven series 2-0.

BIG HIGHLIGHT

IMAGE OF THE GAME

Bring it in, boys.

ROSTER REPORT

Colorado used the exact same lineup, as the forward combinations and defensive pairings to start the game were the same as they were for Game 1. Philipp Grubauer played in his 31st playoff game with the Avalanche and was backed up by Jonas Johansson.

INJURY UPDATE

• Bowen Byram (Upper Body): Cleared to play, according to Jared Bednar
• Matt Calvert (Upper Body): Out long term, last played on March 23 at Arizona
• Devan Dubnyk (COVID protocol): Was removed from NHL COVID protocol on Friday, May 14, and has skated with the team in practices since Monday's morning skate
• Erik Johnson (Upper Body): Could return later in the playoffs, out since getting hurt on Jan. 30 at Minnesota
• Logan O'Connor (Lower Body): Out long term after having surgery, last played on March 31 vs. Arizona
• Pavel Francouz (Lower Body): Expected to return fully healthy next season after having surgery earlier this year, hurt during practice on Jan. 18

UP NEXT

The best-of-seven series shifts to St. Louis for Games 3 and 4 at Enterprise Center. Game 3 is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. MT on Friday while Game 4 will be at 3 p.m. MT on Sunday.

LINE COMBINATIONS

Based on start of the game
Forwards
92 Gabriel Landeskog - 29 Nathan MacKinnon - 96 Mikko Rantanen
95 Andre Burakovsky - 91 Nazem Kadri - 72 Joonas Donskoi
13 Valeri Nichushkin - 17 Tyson Jost - 20 Brandon Saad
18 Alex Newhook - 41 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - 37 J.T. Compher
Defensemen
7 Devon Toews - 8 Cale Makar
49 Samuel Girard - 27 Ryan Graves
24 Patrik Nemeth - 22 Conor Timmins
Goaltenders
31 Philipp Grubauer
35 Jonas Johansson