Without star center Nathan MacKinnon and five other regulars Tuesday night, the Avalanche (7-3-1) played excellent defense and got two goals from depth forwards to defeat the Minnesota Wild 2-1 at Ball Arena. The game story is here.
Five takeaways:
Gruby. Avs goalie Philipp Grubauer stopped 27-of-28 shots for his NHL-high seventh win of the season. He is 7-2. Among goalies with five starts, Grubauer has a league-leading 1.67 goals-against average and his save percentage of .934 is second to Chicago’s Kevin Lankinen (.935).
Colorado doesn’t have proven depth behind Grubauer, but the No. 1 guy has been terrific and likely will again start Thursday night to conclude the four-game set against Minnesota (6-5).
“Gruby’s been incredible for us,” Avs defenseman Cale Makar said. “He’s the backbone of our team, and honestly, it just gives us a lot of confidence playing in front of us. He plays consistent night in and night out and it just allows us to play our game as defensemen.”
Points in five. The Avs are trucking along in how a playoff-bound team needs to operate. They have produced points in their last five games (4-0-1) and are 2-0-1 against the Wild in this four-game “series.” Colorado is 7-2-1 in its last 10.
Makar and Jost. Makar logged a team-high 26:23 and forward Tyson Jost played a season-high 17:11. Makar assisted on Logan O’Connor’s goal to extend his points streak to five games (tying his career-high) and Jost had a career-high 10 faceoff wins as the Avs won 58% of them (35-to-25).
Makar and Jost are both 22. Coach Jared Bednar continues to play Makar like Norris Trophy candidate and both he and Jost have become primarily penalty killers and lauded by Bednar because of their work ethic.
Seven for fighting. J.T. Compher didn’t hesitate. The Wild’s Kyle Rau blitzed Makar with a board or charge — a type of forecheck that often results in a penalty, or injury — and Compher wanted to fight. Compher won the fight with Rau but sent Minnesota on the power play by taking an additional minor for unsportsmanlike conduct (instigating).
The Wild scored on the power play with Compher in the box but it was the type of penalty a united team takes when a star player is treated that way.
“All day long,” Bednar said when asked if he was OK with Compher’s actions. “I thought they should have had the extra (penalty). I thought the hit (on Makar) was probably boarding or a charge. They don’t call it. We get the extra.”
In addition to the goal-allowed, the Avs had to play without their first-line center for nearly seven minutes.
“If it ended up costing us the game it’s a little bit different, but … I think you got to stick up for one another. You got to police yourselves if the officials don’t,” Bednar said. “I was fine with the play and I still am.”
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G Man. Defenseman Sam Girard, the smallest guy on the team (5-foot-10, 170 pounds) sure plays a big role. Girard, along with Makar and rookie Bo Byram, 19, is now playing on the penalty kill because of the injury absence of defenseman Devon Toews and Erik Johnson. Girard logged 25:47, second on the team behind Makar, and was a team-high plus-2. He played 1:31 on the power play and 1:25 on the penalty kill.
Girard, 22, also made his debut with an “A” on his chest as an alternate captain, replacing MacKinnon.
“He’s a leader,” Bednar said of Girard.
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