Avalanche news: Big comeback win, Landeskog beauty, MacKinnon frustration

The Colorado Avalanche got one of their toughest wins on Saturday night, posing at the Quebec Nordiques, against the Carolina Hurricanes clad in the erstwhile Hartford Whaler’s gear.

When everything was said and done, the Avalanche pulled out a 5-3 win that featured an egregious attack on Nathan MacKinnon as he headed to bury an empty-netter late in the game. MacKinnon was hauled down by Hurricanes’ defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere. The penalty, however, did not stand as the Avs found the empty net.

With that in mind, here’s a look at this edition of the Avalanche news.

Avalanche got huge comeback win

The Avalanche haven’t really faced much staunch opposition this season. The club has mostly dominated games throughout the season, precluding the need for major comebacks. But on Saturday night, the Avs found themselves down 3-1 after 40 minutes.

The Hurricanes took advantage of an unusually bad stretch by the Avalanche in the middle of the second period. First, Nikolaj Ehlers scored a rare power play against Colorado, to give Carolina a 2-1 lead. About three minutes later, Andrei Svechnikov capitalized on an even rarer misplay by Devon Toews, beating him on a rush and then deking out Scott Wedgewood for the goal.

The Avalanche looked in trouble, but then, Brock Nelson replied on the power play and Jack Drury tied the game about 30 seconds later to tie the game. At the 7:30 mark of the third, Nelson struck again on the power play, to give Colorado a 4-3 lead. Nathan MacKinnon added the aforementioned empty-netter to seal the victory.

The win was Colorado’s 31st of the season.

Landeskog beauty

Captain Gabe Landeskog scored a beauty of a goal to tie the game for the Avalanche early in the second period. The goal was Landy’s seventh of the season. Beyond that, the goal should easily dispel any concerns about The Captain’s legs holding up this season.

Here’s a look at the goal, as shown on the Avalanche’s official X account:

The goal was an old-fashioned wrap-around, one that took Hurricanes’ captain Jordan Staal for quite the ride. It’s fantastic to see Landeskog excelling on the ice, as all injury concerns seem to be behind him.

MacKinnon frustration

Midway through the second period, Nathan MacKinnon sacrificed one of his sticks to the NHL gods after not getting a call he wanted.

Here's a look at the outburst:

The frustration went beyond the believed missed call. The Avs were on the power play and down 3-1. The temper tantrum turned into a four-point night, in which MacKinnon added three assists.

The performance catapulted MacKinnon back to the top of the NHL scoring race with 74 points in 40 games. He stands at 35 goals in 40 games, potentially giving him an outside shot at 50 goals in 50 games.

Regardless, the outburst seems to have sparked the club. The Avs turned things around from that point, eventually coming back for the win. MacKinnon’s reaction proves the Avalanche are on a mission this season. The team wants to win every game, even when it would be “okay” to lose the odd game here or there.

The Avs have now won 10 in a row and will look to make it 11 against the Florida Panthers on Sunday night in Sunrise.