Avalanche Game 71 Recap: No Surrender

I...love...this...team!!!

We did it again, folks! Actually, I should say, we did it yet again! The Colorado Avalanche entered this Sunday matinee game on TNT on an eight game winning streak, and on top of the Central Division. The homestand entered Game #2 and it was against the Pittsburgh Penguins. It's always interesting when Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon get together, and regarding this game, as Cody Rhodes would say, they have a lot to talk about.

The goalie matchup was Alexandar Georgiev vs Alex Nedeljkovic, and the Penguins were in control of the shots. The Avs had the first power play, but oh boy, was it terrible. Pittsburgh gave no quarter on the PK; hell, they didn't even give a dime. Even worse, Jesse Puljujarvi, who committed the penalty, scored just seconds out of exiting the box. He is an ex-Oiler, by the way, so he may have a bit of an axe to grind against the team who beat him in 2022. Bryan Rust would make it 2-0, and it was one of those weirdo lucky bounces. So it was 2-0 Pens after 20, and it was a terrible first period for the Avs, as we were outshot 15-4.

At this point, I was ranting a bit. "Where was this in Dallas?!" I asked. Dallas got the 2003-04 Penguins. We got the Penguins who won Cups. Speaking of a Penguin who won Cups, he made it 3-0. Yeah. Who else but Crosby? Already, Eighty-Seven had three points; he assisted on the 1st period markers, and added one of his own in the 2nd. Less than two minutes later, Pierre-Olivier Joseph got his first goal of the season. Crosby and one of his longtime running buddies, Kris Letang, got the helpers. It was 4-0. Crosby had four points, and the 2nd period was in the home stretch.

This game was over...for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

25 seconds after Joseph's goal, Sean Walker hatches the goose egg. Leave it to an ex-Flyer to score the Avs' first goal of the season against Pittsburgh. Now, when other teams score on after being down 4-0, the sentiment is, "Well, at least the shutout's gone." When it's the Avs, two words: "It begins." Walker nearly adds another, but a scramble results in another goal. Originally credited to Brandon Duhaime, the goal would be given to Yakov Trenin, who entered as the only one of the four new Avs players who had yet to record a point.

So now we had a game. It was 4-2 after 40 minutes, and the Avs were definitely not done. At 3:32 into the third, Jonathan Drouin made it a one-goal game, and the assists came from Nathan MacKinnon and Devon Toews. For MacKinnon, the home point streak continued--a point in all 34 home games. Penguins had a power play, which was their second of the game, but it went like the first--with nothing. Avs got a PP as well, but that was killed off. At some point, Nedeljkovic had to leave the game for a bit, resulting in Tristan Jarry entering. However, during the final five minutes of regulation, Toews got the puck to Drouin, who made a long pass to MacKinnon, and with one shot, the unthinkable happened.

Tie game!!!

The 4-0 deficit? Poof! The Avalanche scored four goals in a span of just under a period, and when the remaining 4:38 ran out, we had overtime! OT was very short, as in just 54 seconds, Jonathan Drouin delivered the final blow with his second goal of the game. The comeback is complete!

The comeback kings have done it again! For the fourth time this season, the Avs have comeback from down 3-0, and in this case, it was a 4-0 deficit! Respect needs to be put on the Avalanche's name. Nathan MacKinnon's name better be on that Hart Trophy come awards time! The Avalanche are now winners of nine straight, continue to lead the Central Division, and are in a huge logjam for the Presidents' Trophy. This team is just absolutely amazing. We keep finding ways to win, even when are backs are glued to the wall, we just keep on doing it. No retreat, no surrender, no kidding!

The Avalanche's home stand continues on Tuesday, as the Montréal Canadiens head to Ball Arena. As it stands right now, the Avalanche are five points away from clinching a playoff spot, meaning that we can become part of the NHL's Sweet 16 as early as Thursday, which will see the Avs host the New York Rangers.

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