Postgame Wrap-Up: Strong Start Not Sustained

A strong start for a second consecutive game proved to be enough for the Colorado Avalanche to get a point in the standings on Saturday. It's a point the Avs will gladly take, even though it came from a tough ending to the night.
"Our start, our first period and our goaltender got us a point," said Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar following the 3-2 overtime loss to the Calgary Flames. "We should be happy as can be to get a point out of that."
Colorado scored twice in the first 2:40 of the game, but the Flames chipped away at the lead and tied the outing with 1:54 left in the third period. Johnny Gaudreau then ended the evening off a breakaway 46 seconds into OT. Calgary had 31 shots on goal in the final two regulation periods and overtime.

"We have a great start to the game. We come out with a purpose. We're driving pucks, we're putting pucks on net, hunting down rebounds, in and out of our zone, doing everything right," Bednar said. "Then it looked to me like we thought it was going to be easy. Get away from our game, standing around, every play has to be a fancy play. Every play has to be through somebody on the other team. We won't skate. No intent to get any pucks to the net."
Bednar likely couldn't have drawn up a better start for how things began versus the Flames. Much like the Avalanche did in its win on Thursday at the Buffalo Sabres, the club jumped out to a multi-goal lead in the opening frame.

Nathan MacKinnon scored 11 seconds into the outing, tallying his sixth of the campaign on a rebound after Mikko Rantanen's shot caromed right to him at the left post. MacKinnon is now on a five-game goal streak to begin the season, the only Avs player to accomplish the feat and ties Mats Sundin's franchise record (five games) from 1992-93 with the Quebec Nordiques.
MacKinnon's five straight contests with a goal also ties his career-long stretch in a season (Jan. 6-20, 2018). He can set new marks on Tuesday when the team begins a four-game road trip at the New York Rangers.
The forward's marker was also the fastest goal to begin a game for the Avalanche since Antti Laaksonen set the franchise record by scoring eight seconds into the Feb. 10, 2006 contest at the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Rantanen's assist on the tally extended his personal point streak to five games and gives him seven assists on the season; he's grabbed at least one apple in every contest. He joins John-Michael Liles (2010-11, nine games) as the only Avalanche players to have at least one helper in each of the team's first five contests to begin a campaign.
Just 2:29 later after MacKinnon lit the lamp, J.T. Compher did the same with his third marker of the year. It came off a fortunate bounce as Calgary's T.J. Brodie couldn't corral the puck at the blue line after Tyson Barrie dumped it into the zone. Compher raced to control the loose rubber that had got past Brodie and fired a quick shot that beat goaltender David Rittich over his shoulder.
Colorado finished the opening period with 17 shots on goal, but it wasn't able to match that offensive production for the rest of the evening, generating only nine more pucks on net.

"I think what happened in the last two periods, we stopped playing offensive hockey," said Avs captain Gabriel Landeskog. "We stopped playing aggressive hockey, which is the way we got to play. We want to play fast, and you see what happens when we play fast. First five, 10 minutes of the first period, we obviously took it to them pretty good and then we kind of laid off the gas. You know when a team goes out and has that strong of a period, that the other team is going to push back."
Goaltender Semyon Varlamov kept the Avalanche in the last 40 minutes and allowed the team to earn a point. He finished with a season-high 38 saves and is now 3-0-1 on the year.
"You just can't play one period and then just stop playing and try to survive the rest of the game," Varlamov said. "We know we can be better."
CAPTAIN 200: Gabriel Landeskog recorded his 200th NHL assist with his helper on MacKinnon's marker in the first period.
Landeskog now has 344 points in his career, registering 144 goals and 200 assists in 511 contests.
COLE FIRST POINT:Defenseman Ian Cole picked up his first point as a member of the Avalanche with an assist on J.T. Compher's goal in the first period.
Cole joined Colorado as a free agent in the offseason, signing a three-year contract on July 1. He spent last season with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Pittsburgh Penguins, where he record five goals and 15 assists in 67 combined games with those teams.
GOOD KILL:The Avalanche finished 4-for-4 on the penalty kill and is now 22-for-23 (95.7 percent) in short-handed situations this season. Colorado's penalty-kill unit is a perfect 10-for-10 on home ice.
The Avs have not allowed a 5-on-4 goal (only power-play goal against came 5-on-3) this season and have killed 16 straight penalties.
ANDRIGHETTO UPDATE: Sven Andrighetto is skating and could join the club sometime on its upcoming four-game road trip on the east coast.
Andrighetto took part in the team's morning skate on Saturday in a red, non-contact jersey. He's been out since hurting his leg in the Avs' preseason game against the Dallas Stars on Sept. 26.
"He was on the ice while we were gone. He's back out again this morning. He joined the group for the first time," Bednar said following morning skate. "He won't make the trip right away with us on Monday because he has some days that he can skate, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and then we'll look at maybe getting him out on the road trip and joining the team."
The forward's estimated recovery time was two-to-four weeks, and last Wednesday marked the two-week point since the injury.