Recap: Avs roar back to beat Buffalo, kick off the New Year in style

Colorado shows some insane grit to come-from-behind and beat Buffalo once again.

In the first game of 2025, the Colorado Avalanche beat the Buffalo Sabres for the second time this season by a final score of 6-5 in overtime.

Let’s break down all the action from tonight!

First Period

Some poor defensive play early in this game cost Colorado and put them in a 2-0 hole early. First, Jason Zucker would get the Sabres on the board first on the power play, as he managed to get to the front of the net completely unchallenged.

After that, Bowen Byram would prove that the ex-player curse is very much alive and well, as he got behind the Colorado defense, and tucked the puck past Scott Wedgewood, to make it 2-0.

Second Period

Nathan MacKinnon looked like he had given Colorado some life after scoring what was initially a very lucky goal, but the play was reviewed and ultimately determined to be offsides, unfortunately.

Ross Colton would head to the box for a retalitory cross-check penalty, after he wasn’t pleased with a hit that he received from Zucker. Zucker would then score on that ensuing power play opportunity, once again in front of the net unchallenged, putting Buffalo up 3-0.

And finally, after what felt like a lifetime, Cale Makar would get Colorado on the board for real. Jonathan Drouin would find Makar at the top of the offensive zone, and Makar would just walk his way all the way to the bottom of the circles, and put the puck past Luukkonen.

Third Period

This period was by far the most eventful here tonight. First, Ross Colton would score just over a minute into the third period to bring the Avs within one.

After that, Zach Benson would put the Sabres up 4-2, after falling into the back of Wedgewood’s legs, and subsequently injuring him. While Wedgewood was down, the referees didn’t blow the play dead, and that one’s pretty easy for Buffalo when you have an injured goaltender to go against.

We would get a lot of extracurricular activities after that, as a bit of a penalty parade would occur. Colorado would ultimately end up with a 5-on-3 opportunity, and this is not a team you want to give that opportunity to. Mikko Rantanen would end up completely unchallenged in his favorite spot to shoot from, and unloaded a one-timer into the back of the net to bring Colorado within one once again.

Zucker would complete the hat trick to put the Sabres up 5-3 late in the third period as well.

Colorado wouldn’t go quietly however, as both Cale Makar and Jonathan Drouin would score goals with Mackenzie Blackwood pulled for the extra attacker to tie this game, send it to overtime, and secure at least a point for the Avs tonight after being down 5-3.

Overtime

Devon Toews singlehandedly ended this game in overtime, not even a minute into the period. As Tage Thompson was in the Avs defensive zone, Toews challenged him and was able to take the puck away from Thompson, spring himself on a breakaway, and completed the comeback for Colorado!

Takeaways

What a way to ring in the New Year and kick off 2025, eh? I honestly don’t really know where to start with this game. There were some incredibly, in a word, infuriating parts of this game, but knowing the outcome, most of those infuriating things don’t matter at the end of the day. I don’t love how easy some of those goals were for Buffalo as a result of poor defensive play, specifically the first two Jason Zucker ones where he was in front of the net completely unchallenged. Yes you won tonight, but you can’t expect to roar all the way back and win every single night if you’re giving up freebies like that in this league. The one infuriating part of tonight’s game that does matter is obviously the Scott Wedgewood injury. Hopefully he’s fine and won’t miss a lot of time, if any time at all.

That all being said, you can’t not love the grit from this team in this game. When they could’ve just packed it in after the Wedgewood injury and Zucker hat trick, they just refused to go away once again, similarly to their first game against the Saberes earlier this season. Obviously, you’d love for the Avs to start on time and not put themselves in a 2-0 in the first place, because you’re certainly not going to win every game if you play like that, but knowing the outcome, it is what it is. While come-from-behind wins like this might not be a sustainable way to win hockey games night in and night out, boy are they fun to watch at the very least!

Upcoming

The Colorado Avalanche continue their current homestand on Saturday, January 4, as they take on the Montreal Canadiens. Puck drop will be at 5:00 p.m. MT.