The MGM Line was cash Wednesday night, accounting for the two goals and all five factors in the Avalanche’s 2-1 triumph over the Montreal Canadiens.
Center Nathan MacKinnon had been confined to only one shot over 59 moments but had primary assists on goals from wingers Mikko Rantanen and Gabe Landeskog as Colorado increased back from a 1-0 deficit in the Pepsi Center. Rantanen, the NHL’s leading scorer, also had a two-point later assisting on Landeskog’s goal.
“I only consider what’s contributed to me personally,” said MacKinnon, that had a team-high 39 goals last season and currently has 21, now two behind Landeskog. “TonightI felt as though I could have shot a little bit more, but I put those guys on these aims in positions that were better. I think I’m more of a passer than a shooter, anyhow. ”
Goalie Philipp Grubauer, that had been acquired from Washington in June, made 35 saves in possibly his best performance in an Avs sweater thus far.
“Gruby created some extremely strong saves when he needed to, and overall a good team victory,” Landeskog stated.
Landeskog broke a 1-1 tie 35 minutes to third period, devoting his own rally with a midair tap-in. Landeskog put his very first shot Canadiens goalie Carey Price after getting a pass from MacKinnon close to the goal line. Price, who turned the puck around to MacKinnon on Rantanen’s second-period goal, was seeking to become the 35th goalie to reach 300 victories.
“It’s competitive guys that want to win, want to help the team win, and you want to be better than who you’re lining up on the opposing side,” Landeskog said of this MGM Line, the NHL’s highest-scoring trio. “For uswe have a lot of pride in being the very first line and offensive weapon for us. ”
Colorado improved to 2-1 on its own four-game homestand that ends Friday against the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Avs carried Monday’s lackluster performance against the New York Islanders into Wednesday. The Habs ordinarily controlled play early and moved ahead 1-0 in their first power play 5:43 into the game. Montreal entered Denver having gone 0-for-25 on the power play in its past eight games, however Brendan Gallagher snapped the skid by diverting Jeff Petry’s burst from the stage.
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Colorado obtained even 4:21 into the next period, when MacKinnon fed Rantanen from your goal line and the NHL’s leading scorer one-touched that the puck over Price’s right shoulder.
“Our best line began to come about and broke the game open for us,” ” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “High degree of execution to place the puck in the back of the internet (twice). They kind of gained some steam then (Rantanen) goal because I thought they were getting a little frustrated and then they began to go along with our crew kind of followed. I enjoyed our third period a great deal. ”
The Avs let 27 shots through two phases, after restricting the Islanders to only 21 in New York’s 4-1 succeed Monday. However, Colorado was by far the better team from the next.
Cost was on his game , which makes an impressive rescue with his paddle onto a grade-A look by Avs ahead Matt Calvert. In the next stage, Alex Kerfoot place off a shot Price’s abandoned pole, and the two players saw the puck run parallel to the goal line before a Habs player caught it from danger.
Footnotes. Defenseman Nikita Zadorov abandoned the game in the second stage. He didn’t return. … Kerfoot returned to the lineup after missing four games having an abysmal injury. He centered the second line, replacing rookie Sheldon Dries, that had been the team’s just healthy scratch. Defenseman Mark Barberio and Conor Timmins have upper-body accidents. … Montreal was beginning a six-game stretch on the road, divide in half with next week’s three-day Christmas break.
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