Justice is a Dish Served Hot!
After a wrong is righted, the Colorado Avalanche took the ice on the road against the Seattle Kraken
We Avs fans were still left seething over the injustice that was done to our MVP, Nathan MacKinnon, on Tuesday. Darnell Nurse bowls Mack over towards goalie Connor Ingram, resulting in Ingram's injury. Now, the officials knew that was the case, but what did they do? Gave him five and ten; major penalty, game misconduct, out of the game. The Avs lost because the refs did literally everything in their power to help the Oilers, including unjustly ejecting our MVP.
However, just hours before we took the ice in Seattle, justice was served:
That major penalty and the game misconduct? Poof! Gone! The NHL scrubbed Mack's record clean. It's almost like they knew that bullshit shouldn't have been called in the first place! Oh wait! Because it shouldn't have! The NHL did the right thing, but they need to go further, like, oh I don't know, suspending the idiot officials who caused this! They won't do that, though, because the NHL would have to admit there's a huge officiating problem in the league. But hey, at least Mack got his justice. I'll take that. Oilers fans can take the L. They're used to that.
So it's on to Seattle, the first game of a brief two-game road trip. Scott Wedgewood was in net against our old boy Philipp Grubauer, and the Avs struck first pretty early. Martin Necas put up his thirtieth goal of the season, with the assists coming from Devon Toews and Nathan MacKinnon. The Avs led in shots, 7-2, at the near midpoint of the period, and later on, the Mack man put in his 44th of the season, and Toews and Necas assisted. So we're up 2-0! With just under two minutes left, the Avs had the first power play, and it was a double minor--an obvious one. Nicolas Roy scored 37 seconds in to the PP, his second goal in three games after the trade. Brock Nelson and MacKinnon with the helpers.
A double minor power play is four minutes long because it's two PPs back-to-back. Because Roy scored in the first two minutes, the first PP is over, but a second one starts anew. That second one spanned into the 2nd period, and was killed off, but still, a 3-0 lead. Kraken got their first PP at 3:37, that was killed off, but literally one second after that PP ended, Seattle got another one. Yikes. That was killed off, too. We would get a power play later in the period, yet Seattle chose that moment to score. Ryker Evans from Chandler Stephenson, and that is the 12th shortie we've given up this season. Power play was knocked off, but minutes later, we got that goal back. Guess who? No, not #29, though he did assist. It was #91. Nazem Kadri. First goal since the trade, first goal with the Avs since Game Four of the 2022 Final. Welcome back, Kadri!
Sam Malinski had the other assist, and the Avs led 4-1 after 40. 3rd period was quiet, no penalties in that frame and only one goal in it. That was ours, and it was Joel Kiviranta, with Josh Manson and Parker Kelly assisting. So yeah, it was all over but the shouting.
The Avalanche won, 5-1, in Seattle, proving that the greatest payback is living well. Nathan MacKinnon, after the wrong against him was righted, had a four-point night, and at the right time, too. Connor McDavid was shut out in Dallas, so Mack (at 108 points) stands just two points behind McDavid. Nazem Kadri lit the lamp for the first time since the trade, and Scott Wedgewood continued to be the shutdown goalie he's been all season. The Avs, with this win, are very close to becoming the first team to clinch a spot in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs; we are about six points (three wins) away from getting in.
Oh, and about our shorties against problem. We've given up a dozen of those this season. One year, we actually gave up 22 shorthanded goals. The year that we did so: 1995-96. We all know how that ended. So yes, Avs fans, our PP does need a lot of work, but it is definitely not the end of the world. Next up, the Avs head to Winnipeg against the Jets; that's on Saturday.
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About the Creator
Clyde E. Dawkins
I'm a big sports fan, especially hockey, and I've been a fan of villainesses since I was eight! My favorite shows are The Simpsons and Family Guy, etc.
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Comments (1)
Officials need to start handing Goalies embellishment penalties. Too many guys are flopping like ragdolls every time they even think they got touched. Wasn't the case here because Nurse caused the njury. But too many are flopping and rolling like a soccer player.