The Colorado Avalanche built a 2-0 lead on the Florida Panther on Sunday night before finally winning 3-2 in regulation. Andre Burakovsky scored all three goals for his first career hat trick. Burakovsky has had five goals in the last two games.
It was a wild finish for two teams that seem destined to relive the magic of 1996. That last-minute Florida 6-4 was flat out insane.
The score was close as you'd expect between two very good teams, but there was one this that really stood out to me in this one - the 'Avs speed and intelligence with the puck. Nathan Mackinnon did not score a goal but his electrifying speed and Mikko Rantanen's head-up hockey sense directly led to two of Colorado's goals and several other solid scoring chances.
Another big part of this game was the play of Darcy Kuemper. Colorado's hit-or-miss netminder played very well making several grade-A stops which allowed the 'Avs top-line t make its magic happen.
The win moves Colorado 16-7-2 with several games in hand on the rest of the Central.
Prior to Sunday's big win, the points were piling up because the goals were piling up. The Avs scored seven goals in a game six times before the 25th game. Only a handful of other teams have ever scored like that with such regularity.
After drubbing the Detroit Red Wings 7-3 on Friday night the 'Avs joined the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, and Pittsburgh Penguins as the only franchises to score and a touchdown and nail the extra point at least six times in the first 25 games of a season. That's rarified air to be sure.
The offensive onslaught isn't showing any signs of slowing. The 'Avs are averaging nearly 4.4 goals a game while firing 35 shots per goal per game. They put 47 pucks on the Red Wings net.
The seven-goal outbursts have all happened in the last 15 games and they've done it three games in a row. Six different players scored in the win over Detroit including J.T. Compher is his return from injury. Sam Girard scored a dandy, Burakovsky picked up a pair.
The only downside is that Gabriel Landeskog's status is up in the air after exiting the Detroit game with a lower-body injury and he could be out for at least a couple of weeks. Another big blow.
Crazy how good this team is in spite of all the setbacks. The skys the limit for the Colorado and I'm serious about a '96 rematch. The 'Avs are scoring like a team from the '90s... so why not?
Thanks for reading, Steve