Shaping Up

The date: November 5, 2024. The ultimate decision was looming over this great nation. It had been a nagging question for a long time, and on this day, we would finally get the answer to the all-important decision:

Do we finally boo Jordan Eberle for what he did to Andrew Cogliano, or no?

In all seriousness, the Colorado Avalanche returned home just for one night, and we faced off against the Seattle Kraken for the second time this season. The Avs won the first meeting by a score of 3-2, with that meeting taking place at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. Both teams were in the midst of skids; each team entered this meeting losing three straight games. However, the Avs brought something extra to the table.

He's back, folks. Mr. "Right Place, Right Time" has returned for the Avs. Artturi Lehkonen's season debut in this game was announced just days prior, as he had been out since prior to the season's start. He's the first of the MIA players to return to the Avs, and it's a big one. We all know what Lehkonen means to us. The clutch OT goal that got us to the Cup Final in 2022. The clutch Cup clinching goal in Game Six on June 26 of that year. The amazing last two seasons he had for us since then. Lehkonen has been very valuable to us.

Justus Annunen was in net against our old friend Philipp Grubauer, and it would not take us very long to strike first. Chris Wagner made it 1-0 at 2:28 into the game, and the assists came from Nathan MacKinnon and Samuel Girard. Both teams really pressed after that, and the first power play of the game went to Seattle. That was killed off, but just five seconds later, Jaden Schwartz ties it. Matty Beniers and Ryker Evans assisted, but barely over a minute later, Ivan Ivan scores his third, and the assists came from Nikolai Kovalenko and Nathan MacKinnon. Avs regained the 2-1 lead, and had a power play late in the period, which became 48 seconds of 4-on-4.

The 4-on-4 continued in the 2nd, and it became a Seattle power play that resulted in Jared McCann tying it up. Chandler Stephenson had the only assist, but at 5:46, the Kraken would be shorthanded again. At 6:44, Artturi Lehkonen, in his first game this season, gets one past Grubauer--it squirted by him--and gives the Avs the lead back. The assists: MacKinnon and Cale Makar. Literally a minute after the goal, the Avs received another power play. This one cashes in, too, and it's Mikko Rantanen, who had been snake bit for so long. So it's 4-2 Avs, or so we thought.

Seattle challenges for offsides, and it looks so obvious. So the goal is taken away, but wait, they're still looking at it. Now there's a chance that this wasn't offside, and after a deeper review, it's determined that Seattle dumped the puck in their own area, and when that happens, the Avs didn't have to get set. So the goal counts, and as a result of this, the Avs received yet another power play. This one is killed off. Oh, and the assists on the goal: Makar and MacKinnon.

Avs led 4-2 after 40 minutes, and the score remained unchanged for most of the third period. Grubauer was pulled for the extra attacker, and it's followed by Parker Kelly blocking not one, not two, not three, not four, but five straight Kraken shots. FIVE! Unfortunately, he could not stop a sixth one, as Matty Beniers made it a one goal game, and Kelly slammed his stick in frustration. You can't blame him. Players get injured blocking shots like that, because that puck is flying at 90 or even 100 miles per hour, so yeah, that's a lot of pain. Goalie remained pulled, but Mikko Rantanen netted his second of the game, and the assists came from Lehkonen and MacKinnon. Avs received another power play late, which iced it, but Kovalenko decided to put one in because reasons.

The Avalanche won 6-3, snapping the team's three-game losing streak. The return of Lehkonen definitely caused a huge spark; it was reposted that the Avs had a .640 win percentage in games he played. Lehkonen had a goal and an assist, Mikko Rantanen had two goals, but the ultimate performance came from Nathan MacKinnon, who had five assists in this outing. This was quite the performance from the Avs, a huge glimpse of that team we know so very well.

The Avalanche will be off to Winnipeg on Thursday to face off against the Jets in a rematch of last year's first round matchup--the one that's giving Connor Hellebuyck nightmares. After that, it's a four-game homestand with the Hurricanes (Saturday), Predators (Monday), Kings (next Wednesday), and Capitals (next Friday) heading to Ball Arena.

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