October 16, 2015; Anaheim, CA, USA; Colorado Avalanchecenter Nathan MacKinnon (29) celebrates with left wing Gabriel Landeskog (92) his goal scored against the Anaheim Ducks during the first period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
The Colorado Avalanche came back from a 6-2 loss against the Boston Bruins by shutting out the Anaheim Ducks on the road. Not everything was great, but many things were.
Many NHL fans and writers had the Anaheim Ducks atop the Western Conference and as the West’s Stanley Cup Finalist. Four games into the season, the birds from Orange County are still without a win and only one point away from the bottom of the standings. Even the Colorado Avalanche was able to beat Anaheim 3-0 with Reto Berra — their oh-so-terrible backup — in net.
That terrible, inconsistent backup made 35 saves which earned him first-star honors. Colorado’s goals came from Nathan MacKinnon, Jack Skille and John Mitchell.
So far, goal scoring wasn’t really an issue for the Avs. Through the first four games of the season, six different players have found the back of the net for a total of 15 shots. However, defense play — from defensemen as well as forwards — was as much a problem as it was last season, as Colorado got a total of 14 goals against in the first three games. Therefore, it’s good to see that they can also shut out their opponents offense sometimes.
Here are seven more things we noticed in the game against Anaheim.
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