Avalanche Game 25 Recap: Too Close for Comfort

The Colorado Avalanche's three-game road trip was not a successful one. The team lost all three games, but two of them were in extra time, so that a resulted in two more points in the standings. Even so, it's a bitter pill to swallow, and it's often said that home cooking cures all ills. That's what the Avs will receive for the next five games. A long overdue lengthy homestand kicked off with a meeting with the Anaheim Ducks; the third and final meeting of the season. The first game saw the Avs clobber the Ducks, 8-2, while the second meeting was a comeback win for the Ducks, as they won 4-3 via the shootout after trailing 3-1.

The goaltender matchup was Alexandar Georgiev vs John Gibson, and it was Georgiev in net during the Avs' blowout win over Anaheim. Avs wasted no time getting things started. At exactly 100 seconds, Kurtis MacDermid (remember that name) made it 1-0 for Colorado, with the lone assist going to Nathan MacKinnon. Avs quickly attempted to get another one, but Gibson was stopping all of our shots. First power play went to Colorado, but it was killed off. The Ducks came very close to tying it, but thanks to Georgiev, it was 1-0 after 20 minutes.

The second period was every bit as quiet as the first. There was only one penalty, and it was committed by Colorado, who did kill the Ducks power play. It was a back and forth period, and it was all quiet until 17:43 into the frame, when MacKinnon made it 2-0 with assists from Jonathan Drouin and Josh Manson. That was the score after 40, and in the third period, Logan O'Connor scored an even strength goal, something no one had on the bingo card for this season (his previous three goals were all shorties). So it was 3-0 Avs, and it looked like it would be smooth sailing. The Avs later went on the power play, even better! Then Sam Carrick picked Mikko Rantanen's pocket, and the shutout was gone. Ducks killed off the rest of the penalty, and later on, Frederik Olofsson was called for tripping; an obvious call.

That's when Kurtis MacDermid decided to have a total brain fart and go after Leo Carlsson, and I mean go after him! There was no need for this. None. As a result, not only was Olofsson going to the box, MacDermid was joining him. A 5-on-3 for the full two minutes! Yikes! Halfway into the two-man advantage, the aforementioned Carlsson makes it a one goal game. The goal only lets Olofsson out of the box, there's still a one-man advantage for the rest of the way. Thankfully, Georgiev kills it off. Even better, the Ducks forget how to count later on: a Too Many Men penalty that gave the Avs a power play with barely over three minutes left in regulation. It gets killed off, and afterwards, Gibson gets pulled for the extra attacker. It nearly results in the game being tied, but the Avs hold off the Ducks for a 3-2 win.

Let's talk about Kurtis MacDermid. I am a big fan of this guy; he's basically what Scott Parker was for us back in the old days. He is the last player we expect to score goals, yet he has two already this season. I often call him "Kurtis Blow" when I live tweet Avs games; nicknamed after the legendary rapper, but it fits because he's the one getting in all of the fights for us. However, as much as I love this guy, he made me mad tonight. Yes, he had the goal, and it was in line to be the game winner until the shortie happened. MacDermid nearly cost us the game with his "genius" decision to go after Leo Carlsson for no reason after that penalty. Ducks had an opportunity to tie the game thanks to MacDermid's dumb penalty. Thankfully, they only got the one.

One down, four to go on this five game homestand. It continues on Thursday, with the Avs hosting the Winnipeg Jets; the first overall meeting of the season.

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