Recap: Canadiens snap nine-game win streak for Avalanche

Colorado could never really put it altogether in the loss.

Oh well.

The Colorado Avalanche had its win streak snapped at nine games, at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens. The Habs finished up their five-game road trip with a 2-1 win at Ball Arena on Tuesday night.

All it took was some drama and action in the opening minute, plus a late first-period goal and it was all she wrote. Regardless, let’s go over it all, shall we?

First Period

Scoring was off to a fast start for both teams. Nathan MacKinnon finished off a great passing play just 43 seconds in to take the lead. But nine seconds later, Nick Suzuki responded in kind, going five-hole on Justus Annunen to make it 1-all.

MacKinnon would find the iron twice in the rest of the period as well. Unfortunately for him and the team, alongside two power plays, they couldn’t convert.

Rather, it would be Montreal converting. A shot would sneak behind Annunen and sit behind him. Joel Armia would pounce on the chance, and finish on the wraparound to take the lead for Montreal heading into the room.

Second Period

The first line had a great opening shift in the period and looked to score on an ensuing power play after Andrew Cogliano was high-sticked. But, it led to nothing in the end.

Nothing would be the theme of the frame, as neither team produced much offense. It became a slugfest and would continue to be heading into the third period.

Third Period

With Annunen keeping his team in it with a big save moving from left to right, it gave Colorado some life. MacKinnon had nearly another highlight reel goal, going coast to coast but missing his backhander over the net.

But yet, the Avs still have trouble connecting passes and getting pucks to the front of the net. Montreal did a good job clogging up lanes and getting in the way of pucks.

The big killer would be Sean Walker taking two late penalties in the final 10 minutes – including a four-minute high-sticking call with 5:03 left in the game. After killing off both penalties, the Avs had less than a minute to work some magic, which they failed to do so in a deflating 2-1 loss.

Takeaways

The entire game as a whole was sluggish for the Avalanche. Aside from the scoring in the first minute of the game, Colorado couldn’t garner much more than that. Part of it was finding it difficult to string passes together and create solid chances at the net. Part of it was Sam Montembault standing on his head, particularly in the first period. Part of it was also Montreal getting in the way, ending the night with 20 blocked shots. All in all, it just never really panned out for the Avs.

Annunen found life difficult in the crease as well. He stopped 25 of the 27 shots he faced, but both could’ve been prevented. The first goal went through his five-hole, seeming as though it somewhat surprised him. On top of that, the Habs’ winning goal squeezed through him and sat behind him, leading to the open net for Armia. Freshly signed off his new two-year contract, it’s not the start he was looking for but he’ll have time to bounce back.

The positives from this game include the continuation of MacKinnon’s point streak on home ice. His lone goal now has him only six games away from beating Wayne Gretzky’s record. He is also the first player in the NHL’s history to have at least two 19-game point streaks in a single season. Aside from losing out on the chance of winning 10 games in a row, they are now two points behind the Dallas Stars (should Dallas win their game against the San Jose Sharks tonight, which they are currently winning as of the publishing of this article.) But, Colorado has a game in hand, and with a game against the Stars still on the books in the coming days, it’s bound to be an interesting one en route to the top of the Central Divison.

Upcoming

Game four of five of the home stand comes on Thursday night against the New York Rangers. Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m. MT.