Upbeat Avs go for back-to-back wins over slumping Red Wings
The Colorado Avalanche broke out of a mini slump with a dominant win over Detroit on Saturday. They will try to make it two in a row over their old rivals when the teams meet in Denver on Monday night.
Colorado routed the Red Wings in Detroit 5-0 to end a two-game skid while displaying the dominant play it has shown over the first half of the season. The Avalanche were 1-3-1 in their last five games entering Saturday and had allowed 19 goals in the last three losses before posting their sixth shutout of the season.
"This was huge," star forward Nathan MacKinnon said. "We came here and got two points, and now we play them again next game. ... It's like a mini playoff series. It's always tough to beat a team twice in a row, and that's a very good team."
The Avalanche also won without forward Martin Necas, who is day-to-day with a lower-body injury sustained Thursday at Montreal. Necas is Colorado's second-leading scorer with 62 points (22 goals, 40 assists) and may not play in the final two games before the Olympic break.
The Avalanche do have MacKinnon, whose two goals and one assist sparked the win over the Red Wings. He has 91 points and became the first player in the NHL to reach 40 goals this season last time out. His 51 assists are tied for fourth in the league.
MacKinnon, who leads Colorado in points, goals and assists, went five games without a goal with three assists before Saturday.
"You just have to tip your hat because he's a great player," Detroit coach Todd McLellan said. "With (Edmonton Oilers star) Connor McDavid, you check him in a certain way, and he's always got another answer. Nate's the same way. Sometimes it takes two guys to slow him down, and then someone else is open."
The Red Wings are 1-2-2 in their last five games and are stumbling to the upcoming three-week hiatus. They earned just one point on their three-game homestand after going 2-0-1 on the road. They had several good scoring opportunities early Saturday but looked flat against a motivated Avalanche squad.
Detroit is second in the Atlantic Division but entered Sunday just three points ahead of the Buffalo Sabres and Boston Bruins, who were tied for fourth.
"It could be a bit of a fatigue factor. And if it is that, then we've got to suck it up," McLellan said of the current slump. "We have six periods left. And those could be the deciding points. If we aren't completely willing to dig in and get after them, then regret comes in many different ways and at many different times. Or we can dig in and at least give ourselves an opportunity."
Lucas Raymond, who has 58 points (18 goals, 40 assists), leads the Red Wings in scoring, followed by Alex DeBrincat with 57 points, including a team-leading 30 goals. Dylan Larkin is third on the team with 48 points (25 goals, 23 assists) and Moritz Seider is fourth with 37 points (seven goals, 30 assists).