Even the minor leaguers had a slow start and come back finish.
It was a fan appreciation night at Honda Center, and the Anaheim Ducks thanked their fans by giving up four goals to the Colorado Avalanche in the third period en route to a 4-2 defeat Sunday night.
Colorado fans said, “Thank you very much!” as Wyatt Aamodt, Jack Drury, Charlie Coyle, and Erik Johnson all scored third-period goals for the Avs, who trailed the Ducks 2-0 entering the final period. What seemed like a night destined for a ho-hum defeat ended up with an impressive come-from-behind victory for the Avalanche.
Colorado finished the regular season third in the Central Division with 102 points and a record of 49-24-4, just missing out on their fourth consecutive 50-win season. Colorado will face Dallas in the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Scott Wedgewood was solid, stopping 18 of 20 shots to earn his 14th win of the season.
For the Ducks, it was their second consecutive loss. Netminder Lukáš Dostál stopped 20 of 23 shots despite playing well for the first half. The Ducks have two more games to play as they aim to hit the 80-point mark for the first time since 2018-19.
First Period
It was another slow start for Colorado with nothing going early on in the game. With 4:17 left in the opening frame, Anaheim’s Frank Vatrano put his team shorthanded when he slashed Jere Innala in the hands.
It didn’t turn out to be an issue as the Ducks killed the penalty, and Mason McTavish followed up with a beautiful snapshot off the rush that beat Wedgewood glove side to make it a 1-0 score with 1:08 remaining.
Second Period
To start, 5:34 into the period, Charlie Coyle sent the Ducks on their first penalty kill when he tripped McTavish to the ice. Anaheim came into this game with the fifth-worst power play in the league. They may not have earned a better spot in the rankings, but the effort was clearly there. As Coyle was making his way out of the penalty box, the puck eventually ended up in the hands of Alex Killorn, who spotted Sam Colangelo open in the slot and fed him a one-timer to put Anaheim up 2-0.
Third Period
But then Anaheim fan appreciation night earned a late sponsorship with the titanic submersible.
Colorado finally got on the board with 9:55 left in the game when defenseman Wyatt Aaomodt scored his first career NHL goal in his second career NHL game. He found the net after the Ducks turned over the puck in the Avs’ defensive zone. Marty Nečas got the play going by picking up the loose puck and carried it across the blue line and delivered a drop pass to Jack Drury, who found Aaomodt in the slot for the tap-in.
With just under seven minutes left in regulation, Drew Helleson batted the puck out of play for a delay of game penalty. It was the second time the Ducks were whistled for the same infraction in the game.
Drury tied the game when he redirected a scintillating wrist shot from Sam Malinski that flew past a quartet of bodies to get to its destination, a wide-open net. And just like that, the Avalanche were coming to fight, despite not having a majority of their stars, including Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Valeri Nichushkin, Devon Toews, and Artturi Lehkonen, as they all rest before the start of the playoffs.
The rally was completed when Coyle scored to give the Avalanche a 3-2 lead with 2:09 remaining in the game. With the score, Coyle extended his point streak to six games, and the Avalanche scored for the third time in 7:46. It was impeccable timing as Jimmy Vesey found Coyle sprinting up the right wing, and the former Boston Bruin sniped a shot from the right circle to complete the saga.
Erik Johnson scored on the empty-net to secure a four-goal third period for the Avalanche and a 4-2 win over the Ducks. For Johnson, it was his first goal as an Avalanche since being acquired in a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for minor league winger Givani Smith. It was Johnson’s second goal of the season.
Takeaways
It was hard to stay awake for the first couple of frames. It seemed like the Avalanche were going to enter the playoffs with very little momentum and some hard questions.
This was a good win as the team showed that the depth players are willing to step up and make an impact. And how about Wyatt Aamodt? What a goal. Hopefully it’s the first of many. He showed that he has a lot of heart, and he put himself in a great position to capitalize on an opportunity, and he put the puck in the back of the net.
Upcoming
Mikko Rantanen and Matt Duchene are taking on the Avalanche in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Buckle up, fans. The Dallas Stars are coming up next.