The Colorado Avalanche continue to be the hottest team in the NHL thanks to yet another dominant win, this one a 7-2 rout of the Montreal Canadiens. Their only blemish in the last 10 games is a shootout loss to the red-hot Minnesota Wild, who have climbed into third in the tough Central Division.
On Tuesday night, the Avalanche hosted their old sometimes-rival the Vancouver Canucks. Despite a fast start from the Canucks, the Avalanche eventually overwhelmed their opponent once again, cruising to a 3-1 victory.
Goaltending Takes a Hit
Perhaps the biggest takeaway from this one is the fact that Scott Wedgewood left early with an injury. Wedgewood has been off to by far the best start of his career, going 13-1-3 while posting a sterling 2.07 goals-against average and .920 save percentage.
During a TV timeout, Wedgewood skated to the bench, had a brief conversation, and then came off the ice and headed to the dressing room. Mackenzie Blackwood filled in just fine, turning aside all 10 of the shots he faced.
Head coach Jared Bednar commented after the game that Wedgewood was experiencing some tightness and that the move was more precautionary than anything else. He also noted that the team feels like the injury “isn’t serious,” which is good news. In the meantime, the Avalanche are lucky enough to have their pre-season no.1 goalie step right in to handle the load.
The Captain’s Getting Hot
Gabriel Landeskog, in his first regular season since 2021-22, got off to a slow start but no one seemed to mind given how the Avalanche had been playing. Even with just three points in his first 13 games, no one was really all that concerned.
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Though he won’t be one of the three stars of the month, Landeskog has suddenly started getting hot and the Avalanche are even more dangerous because of it. In his last six games, the captain has three goals and eight points and is currently on a four-game point streak.
Depth is one of the things that makes the Avalanche so dangerous. With Landeskog looking more and more like his old self, the Avalanche have yet another scoring threat to roll out. Landeskog had a pair of impressive assists against the Canucks, giving him his second straight multi-point game.
Brock Nelson’s Best Game?
Speaking of someone taking their game to another level, Brock Nelson may have had his best game since coming to the Avalanche. Nelson scored on a snap shot in the second period on a feed from the aforementioned Landeskog for his ninth goal of the season.
Nelson also had another impressive rush that nearly got him on the board again in a night where he played with flair and skill. He also looked strong defensively, making more than a few sound plays that stood out over the course of the night.
When Nazem Kadri left, the Avalanche desperately searched for a legitimate second-line center. Nelson has been the answer so far and could have one of the best seasons he’s ever had if he continues to play at this pace.
A Historic Run?
With this latest win, the Avalanche now have a point in 17 consecutive games. That puts them in the top 25 in terms of the longest streaks in NHL history and three more would put them in the top 10 with some pretty special teams.
The Avalanche have games against the New York Islanders and Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Nashville Predators (twice), a struggling Florida Panthers, and the Seattle Kraken in their next seven games. It is not inconceivable that they could run the table, which would put them in a tie with the 2012-13 Chicago Blackhawks for the third-longest streak of all-time. Not a bad run to have before Christmas.
