Colorado Avalanche Earn Exciting Win against Rangers

The Colorado Avalanche beat the Rangers 3-2 in overtime. They maintain their second-place standings as the Blues also won today.

The Colorado Avalanche played so well tonight, Avs fans are arguing who deserved to be stars of the game. That’s a fun argument to have after a game.

The Avalanche beat the Rangers in overtime by a score of 3-2. This was a tough game for Colorado because they’re missing their superstar, Nathan MacKinnon.

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I kind of knew they’d play really well and get the win. They always step up their game the first time they play after a major player has been injured. It’s the next game, against the Vancouver Canucks, that we have to worry about.

If there is a next game. Both the Columbus Blue Jackets and San Jose Sharks have announced they will be playing their next few games without spectators at the arena. The NBA has postponed their season because a player tested positive for COVID-19.

Honestly, I was watching tonight’s game wondering if something similar would happen, or if the team would be playing in front of an empty arena. Silver lining, if the season is postponed, some Avs players will have more time to get healthy. (I hope no players on any team has coronavirus.)

Observations from the Game

• Pavel Francouz played out of his mind. He really kept the team in the game when the Rangers were coming in waves. He made 30 saves on 32 shots, a .938 save percentage.
• What?

• Captain Gabriel Landeskog took a stick to the mouth in the third period. He finished his shift then went into the dressing room. He came back looking like this:

That’s right, our captain has lost a tooth now. He still has his broken (crooked) nose. He has the real face of a hockey player now — still the handsomest captain in sports.

• Brendan Lemieux hit Joonas Donskoi later and in the head. He sat for interference, but I’d expect the league to look at that hit. Donskoi had to enter the concussion protocol.
• Cale Makar had a hand in all three Avalanche goals, all assists. He now has 50 points on the season (12 goals, 38 assists). He has just three points fewer than fellow rookie Quinn Hughes in 11 fewer games. He also has four more goals.
• It’s a little disappointing the New York Rangers were able to tie the game with 13 seconds left. The silver lining is that the need for a third goal let Makar get a third point on the night.
• Until that goal, Vladislav Namestnikov had the go-ahead goal, which he scored on the power play.
• During the post-game presser, a reporter asked Francouz about how he felt about the coronavirus potentially forcing the NHL to suspend the season like the NBA had. Francouz hadn’t heard that news, and he was kind of stuttering. So, Namestnikov showed teamwork and interjected that the players’ jobs were to show up to work tomorrow.
• Tyson Jost had a similar response when asked a similar question in the pregame interview. He said, “I’m not a doctor. I’m focused on playing hockey.”
• Speaking of, Jost scored a bomb of a goal in the first period to tie the game:

What a beauty. Aren’t we glad we didn’t give up on him? He also drew a penalty, which led to Namestnikov’s power play goal. He was on the ice for that goal.

• The captain had glowing praise for our rookie:

Makar’s response is adorable.

To return to the star debate, the third star was Vladislav Namestnikov, second was Pavel Francouz. JT Compher was named first star, but Cale Makar took his lap because of his three-point night.

I’m on Team Makar for first star. But like I said, that’s a fun argument for a Colorado Avalanche fan.