All Aboard!!!

The Colorado Avalanche needed something to get the foul taste of that 8-2 loss out of our mouths. We also needed the perfect opponent to take said blowout defeat out on. With that, here are some words I never thought I'd say on Vocal: Thank God for the Vegas Golden Knights.

This was perfect. We owed Vegas something as well. It was during our very first game of the season that the Golden Knights throttled us on national TV. So yeah, we had to strike against them as well. Alexandar Georgiev was in net against Adin Hill, and at first, Georgiev had to do a lot of the stopping. Knights controlled the shots, but we started racking up a few of our own. First period ended with nothing going in. Second period was also quiet, but the Avs started getting more shots and even took the lead in the category.

By the middle of the period, something hit me. There were no goals and no penalties halfway through a game between the Avalanche and Golden Knights. How is this possible? I know this feud has only existed for seven years, but it has been hotly contested ever since the Knights debuted in 2017. It's become this generation's Avs/Red Wings rivalry. There's always goals, there's always bad blood, but in this game, no goals and no penalties at that point. That changed a few minutes later. Pavel Dorofeyev struck first for Vegas at 13:09, but 33 seconds later, Valeri Nichushkin ties it up.

1-1 is the score after 40 minutes, but still no penalties at all. At 3:37 of the third period, the first penalty is called, and it's Cale Makar who commits it. Vegas goes on the power play, but that gets killed off. Avs rack up more shots, and then Makar gets tripped up. Avs go on the power play, we get five shots, but none of them go in. The Avs continued to get chances as the clock was whittling down, but in the very final seconds... penalty on the Knights! Devon Toews is tripped up, and with 7.5 seconds left in regulation, the Avalanche receive another power play.

The 7.5 ticks go down quickly, and the game goes to overtime with a lot of PP time for the Avs. The shots were there, but the GWG is not. Power play is killed off, it's 4-on-4 until a stoppage with 1:39 left. It's three-on-three the rest of the way, and the chances were there for both teams, but overtime ends with nothing settled. For the first time this season, the Avalanche went to a shootout, and speaking of that, a realization hit me: this is the 20th season of the shootout. Yep. The shootout has been part of the NHL now for 20 seasons, and regarding this one, Georgiev was getting the stops, but in order, Mikko Rantanen, Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and Casey Mittelstadt could not put it in. However, Valeri Nichushkin could. Nichushkin was out fifth shooter, and he put it in to send Avalanche fans home ecstatic.

If this was the start of Valeri Nichushkin's redemption arc, it's a good one. This was the game that made me remember the Val Nichushkin that I cheer for. The same player who exploded as soon as he joined the Avs. The same player who scored four goals in the 2022 Cup Final. The same player who had his first career Hat Trick in last year's playoffs. Because Nichushkin's goal was unassisted, he was the only Avs player who had a point. He had that goal and the shootout winner. That's the Val I know. And how about Alexandar Georgiev shutting the door in more ways than one? He is on a big time roll for sure.

And with the win, the Avalanche are above the playoff line entering American Thanksgiving. That is a big deal in the NHL, as it's stated that teams who are above the playoff line by that day usually make it. And a day of enjoying good food and good family time, it's back to work for the Avs, as we'll be off to Dallas to face off against the Stars.

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