Mile High Sticking
Fansided

Colorado Avalanche: Top 5 Moments from 2019 Round 1

CALGARY, AB - APRIL 19: Calgary Flames Left Wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) and the teammates shake hands with Colorado Avalanche Defenceman Nikita Zadorov (16) and his team after the end of their season following the loss of Game Five of the Western Conference First Round during the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs where the Calgary Flames hosted the Colorado Avalanche on April 19, 2019, at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, AB. (Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CALGARY, AB - APRIL 19: Calgary Flames Left Wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) and the teammates shake hands with Colorado Avalanche Defenceman Nikita Zadorov (16) and his team after the end of their season following the loss of Game Five of the Western Conference First Round during the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs where the Calgary Flames hosted the Colorado Avalanche on April 19, 2019, at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, AB. (Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
3 of 6
colorado avalanche
DENVER, CO – APRIL 15: Cale Makar #8 of the Colorado Avalanche celebrates after scoring his first NHL goal against the Calgary Flames in Game Three of the Western Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Pepsi Center on April 15, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images)

Cale Makar’s 1st NHL/Playoff/Game-Winning Goal

On the other end of the spectrum, we had a player just starting out his career with the Colorado Avalanche. Defenseman Cale Makar had a whirlwind weekend that saw his UMass Minutemen beat the DU Pioneers to advance to their first-ever championship finals. He won the Hobey Baker, played in the Championship Finals, and signed his NHL contract.

Then he and his parents flew out to Colorado for Makar to debut in the NHL. In the playoffs. In front of the home crowd. Against his childhood dream team. No pressure.

No pressure indeed. Makar may have been shaky his first couple shifts, but by the middle of the first period, he was behaving like a pro. He trailed our superstar, Nathan MacKinnon, into the Avs zone. According to MacKinnon, he was yelling “three, three, three” to let our star know there was a third man on the rush — and one who didn’t mind getting the puck. From the superstar.

Of course, Makar proceeded to do this:

So, I guess it was no big deal to ask for the puck since he planned on scoring his first-ever NHL goal, which just so happened to be his first playoff goal, which also happened to be his first-ever game-winning goal.

Read more about the goal here.

I try to stay even-keel about Colorado’s success to temper any potential disappointment, but oh my goodness Makar looks like he’s going to be a superstar!

Home/Stanley Cup Playoffs