The Colorado Avalanche have been playing like a house of fire lately. With dominant wins over the Edmonton Oilers and Anaheim Ducks recently, they get a bit of a break in the schedule. The first task: dealing with the lowly Buffalo Sabres at home on Thursday night.
Though the lineup looks a little different with the absence of Valeri Nichuskin, it didn’t slow the Avalanche down. Though the Sabres hung tight for the better part of two periods, the Avalanche ultimately pulled away in the end to take the 6-3 victory.
Artturi Lehkonen May Be the Most Underrated Player in the NHL
When he was acquired in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens all the way back during the 2021-22 season, Artturi Lehkonen felt like a nice depth addition. He certainly helped en route to winning the franchise’s third Stanley Cup championship.
As the years have progressed, so too has the Finn’s game. He has drastically improved his offensive game, scoring a career-high 27 goals during the 2024-25 season. He has been even better this season, notching eight goals and 18 points through the team’s first 18 games.
Lehkonen has established himself as one of the best two-way forwards on what is the league’s best teams. Whether the recognition that comes with that status will follow remains to be seen, but it is hard to miss the kind of contributions that he is making this season.
Necas Continues His Fantastic Start
Speaking of guys off to a hot start, it isn’t hard to see that Martin Necas is fitting in nicely alongside Lehkonen and superstar center Nathan MacKinnon. He opened the scoring against the Sabres, then added the backbreaker in the third period to extend the lead to two goals with just over three minutes to go.
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Necas already has 12 goals and 24 points through the first 18 games of the season. That puts him well above his career-best points per game pace of a season ago (1.05), sporting a 1.33 goals per game average so far. It is the kind of production the Avalanche and their fans hoped for in the wake of the Mikko Rantanen trade.
Necas continues to look more comfortable skating alongside the dynamic MacKinnon, who assisted on Necas’ second goal. Necas has joined MacKinnon and Cale Makar among the top 10 scorers in the league. Riding shotgun with MacKinnon could help him stay there for the remainder of the season.
The Avalanche Get Better as the Game Goes On
The Avalanche have an incredible +30 goal differential through the first 18 games of the season. They aren’t just winning, they are blowing opponents out of the water. What’s even more interesting is when you break it down on a period-by-period rate.
The Avalanche have a +5 goal differential in the first period. That number grows to a +9 in the second period. But what’s really incredible is that the Avalanche are a +18 in the third period. When the game matters most, the Avalanche are at their best.
That kind of thing can’t be overlooked. The Avalanche have been as consistent as can be so far this season. If they can play as well in the first period as they have in the third, there is no telling just how dominant they can be this season.
A Fun Time for Avs Fans
Who has it better than Colorado Avalanche fans right now? They have an NHL-best 29 points in the standings, going hand-in-hand with their league-best .806 points percentage. They lead the league in goals-for per game and allow the fewest goals against per game. If the power play could figure itself out, things would be perfect.
So long as the Avalanche remain healthy, this should be one of their best regular seasons in recent memory. They have several potential MVP candidates in MacKinnon, Necas, and Makar, and that’s not even counting the dominant performance that Scott Wedgewood has had. Life is good if you’re an Avalanche fan.
