The Colorado Avalanche fell 4-1 to the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night at Ball Arena in a game that featured the absence of leading scorer Nathan MacKinnon. While the Avs had Martin Necas, and Samuel Girard back on the ice, they just couldn’t hold the Canucks back.
The game was scoreless after the first period with both clubs seeming somewhat sluggish. The action picked up in the second, as the Canucks opened up a 2-0 lead. Former Avalanche Kiefer Sherwood scored his 19th of the season before Devon Toews got the Avs on the board.
Here’s a look at Toews’ goal:
Colorado goal!
— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 11, 2025
Scored by Devon Toews with 03:24 remaining in the 2nd period.
Assisted by Charlie Coyle and Cale Makar.
Colorado: 1
Vancouver: 2#VANvsCOL #GoAvsGo #Canucks pic.twitter.com/dxVs9I1EEn
Unfortunately, that would be all for the Avalanche’s offense. The Canucks tacked on two more in the third to take home the two points.
For the Avalanche it was a disappointing ending to their final home game of the season. The club will head out on the road to finish off the regular season with two games in California against the Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks.
The game featured a spirited scrap between Logan O’Connor and Elias Pettersson (the other Elias Pettersson)
Logan O'Connor and Elias Pettersson start CHUCKING 🥊
— theScore (@theScore) April 11, 2025
(🎥: @Sportsnet)pic.twitter.com/vvZmpIrVgk
It seems Pettersson won the bout, but the fight was entertaining nonetheless. You can’t blame LOC for trying to stir up some trouble and hopefully light a spark. It seems the fight wasn’t enough to revive the Avalanche’s offense, though.
Nathan MacKinnon likely out for the rest of the Colorado Avalanche’s season
Nathan MacKinnon is unlikely to suit up for the remaining two Avalanche games this regular season. It seems the team has decided to remove MacKinnon from the lineup for purely precautionary reasons. There is no indication the star center is injured.
In my estimation, MacKinnon is merely banged up and needs to take a break. He hasn’t missed any games this season. So, it seems the club is keen on keeping him healthy for the start of the playoffs.
On a management level, it makes total sense. The last thing the Colorado Avalanche want is their star center getting hurt in the final two games of the season. On a personal level, it must sting as MacKinnon’s absence opens the door for Nikita Kucherov to capture the Art Ross Trophy.
It also remains to be seen if the Avs sit Cale Makar for at least one game down the stretch. Makar has been a workhorse all season and could use a break heading into the playoffs.
Similarly, MacKenzie Blackwood likely played his final game of the regular season against the Canucks. It’s quite likely that Scott Wedgewood gets the final two games as the Avalanche look to rest their key players leading up to Game 1 of the 2025 NHL playoffs.