Though they haven’t been on their historic pace for quite some time, their defeat of the Minnesota Wild had to feel like a restoring of balance for the Colorado Avalanche. After all, they had raced out to what felt like an insurmountable lead in the Central Division, only to see it evaporate.
Unfortunately for them, a third period comeback was ultimately cut off at the knees by the best player in the world. In the end, the Avalanche fell short to the Oilers 4-3, ending their winning streak at five games in a row.
Necas Continues His Fantastic Run
Though Avalanche fans are intimately familiar with him, Martin Necas flies under the radar from a league-wide standpoint. When you have other superstars and make the biggest trade deadline acquisitions, the attention tends to move away from players who might deserve it.
Necas has been on a heater of late, adding a power play goal against the Oilers on Tuesday night. He now has points in seven of eight games, a goal in six of those contests. He has seven goals and 15 points in that stretch, putting him at eighth in the league in scoring.
There were concerns about whether Necas could fully replace the departed Mikko Rantanen after last season’s big trade. Necas has been outpacing the Finn this season, showing that he fits right in anywhere in the Avalanche lineup.
The Elephant in the Room
Aside from the final score, the other major talking point is the ejection of Nathan MacKinnon. With just over 0:30 remaining in the second period, MacKinnon cut to the front of the net and ultimately collided with goalie Connor Ingram.
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The collision led to Ingram leaving the game and MacKinnon was assessed a five minute major for goaltender interference and a game misconduct. Scary as the collision may have been, it has also earned the ire of Avalanche fans.
MacKinnon, a world-class skater, seems to be pushed by Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse. Moreover, it is clear that MacKinnon was trying his best to avoid contact but could not. A minor would have been fine but a major and a misconduct removes the Avalanche’s best player from the equation and it’s hard to argue that it didn’t make a difference here.
Sometimes You Get Connor’d
At the end of the day, the Avalanche managed to tie the game with just under 13 minutes to go, putting themselves in position to win. But they, as so many do, were gotten the best of by the best player in the world, Connor McDavid.
Circling near the right faceoff dot, McDavid gave a quick little pass to linemate Leon Draisaitl before peeling off in a lightning-quick spin move. He took the give-and-go, possessing the puck for a flash before putting it into the net.
The power play goal wound up being the difference-maker and is just one of millions of examples of why McDavid is the game’s best player. He’d had his chances before finally cashing in on one when it mattered most.
Time to Collect Wins
The Avalanche have a very reasonable slate of games to finish out the month. Aside from showdowns with the Dallas Stars and Pittsburgh Penguins (twice), the Avalanche have the Seattle Kraken, Winnipeg Jets (twice), Chicago Blackhawks, Washington Capitals, and Calgary Flames.
With the Stars closing in, this should be the opportunity the Avalanche need to put the division to rest. If they struggled in the next three, however, the game against Dallas on Mar. 18 could be a whole lot more meaningful.
