Avalanche Game 46 Recap: Carb Overload

It's Game Four of the Colorado Avalanche's five game road trip, and after playing three games in Eastern Canada, the boys are back stateside. This time, the Avs are in Boston facing off against the Bruins, with the game taking place on the anniversary of Willie O'Ree breaking the NHL's color barrier. This finishes off the season series, as the first meeting was a 4-3 shootout win for the Avalanche.

The goalie matchup was Alexandar Georgiev vs Jeremy Swayman, but just 44 seconds in, you-know-who struck. David Pastrnak, who (miraculously) couldn't find the net in Denver, found it this time. Jakob Lauko would later get his first goal of the season, and just like that, Boston was up 2-0. Some Avs fans thought, "We have them right where we want them." After all, the Avs have been mastering the art of the comeback lately. It did seem like we'd do it. Miles Wood put in his second goal in as many games to put the Avs on the board, but at 14:52, Jake DeBrusk made it 3-1 for the Bruins. It was challenged for offsides, yet despite the obvious infraction, the goal stood. Boston was awarded a power play as a result, it was killed off.

3-1 was the score after 20 minutes. As far as penalties went, it was pretty quiet. Each team had one penalty in the first, and the same applied in the second period. The power plays on each side were killed off, and very late in the frame, Nathan MacKinnon cuts Colorado's deficit to one goal. The tally gave MacKinnon his 74th point of the season. The score remained the same after 40 minutes, with the period ended with 15 seconds left on a four-on-four. When the third began, the four-on-four ran out, and the Avs had a mini power play that was killed off. Time went by in the third without a hitch, then Josh Manson committed his second penalty of the game.

Boston's power play was successful this time, and it's Pasta again, giving the Bruins their two goal lead back. Georgiev was pulled for the extra attacker, but that allowed Charlie Coyle to eventually gain possession. Upon seeing Pastrnak, Coyle passes it, and just like that, a Hat Trick. Yeah, Pastrnak had this date circled since the last meeting. He definitely got his pound of flesh.

So, no comeback for the Avs this time. A 5-2 loss that drops our record on this road trip to 2-2. MacKinnon's goal was his only point of the game. He entered the evening tied with Nikita Kucherov in points, but after this game, MacKinnon fell two points behind, as Kucherov had three helpers in Tampa Bay's 7-3 win over the Minnesota Wild, giving him 76 points. Barely over two weeks remain before the All-Star Break hits, and the Avs are still having trouble keeping pace with the first place Winnipeg Jets in the Central Division. With that said, here is the remaining first half schedule for the Avs.

The road trip concludes on Saturday with a matinee game against the Flyers in Philadelphia. After that, the Avs return home for two games before the break; first off, our first meeting of the season against the Washington Capitals on Wednesday, and a week from Friday, the Avs finish the season series against the struggling Los Angeles Kings. It's a long hiatus for the Avs, as the All-Star Game occurs on February 3. It's good for us, because the Jets have some games in hand over the boys.

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