You Can't Spell "Dominate" Without "Nate"

Days after a close home win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Colorado Avalanche went across the border into Western Canada for a pair of games in as many days. First off, facing the Oilers in Edmonton. That is always an exciting affair. We all know the centerpiece in that game: MacKinnon vs McDavid. Two teams who played in three of the last four Cup Finals. This was going to be an epic matchup.

Well... it was for one team!

Scott Wedgewood was in net against Stuart Skinner, and the first period saw penalties called left and right. Any and all PPs were knocked off. After all of that, Cale Makar struck first for the Avalanche, with Devon Toews and Nathan MacKinnon assisting. Barely over a minute later, it was Makar again. Toews and Mack helped out again. Then later in the first, Gabriel Landeskog scored, and there it was! His first goal in three years... until it wasn't. Challenged for offsides. Offsides was called. Second time that Our Captain has had a goal removed due to review. It was 2-0 after 20. A very modest score.

The modesty would end quickly.

At 2:38 into the second period, Gavin Brindley put one in. Then at 4:45, it was Jack Drury. That goal knocked out Skinner, and in came Calvin Pickard. Five minutes after that, it was Parker Kelly scoring. The Oilers received a power play, and that would end the shutout bid, and of course, it was Connor McDavid. Of course it's #97. Oilers had another PP, but that allowed Parker Kelly to break away and score. After 40 minutes, the Avs were up 6-1! Oh boy! And it didn't stop there, as Mack put one in during the first minute of the third. Mack struck again at 5:02, making it 8-1. We actually had time to get to 10 goals, and it was late in the period that Jack Drury got his second of the game, but the fun ended there.

The Avalanche won 9-1 over the Oilers! Nine to one! It was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen; not only beating the Oilers, but turning them into mush, and on their home ice at that! Four Avs had two goals each! MacKinnon had four points. And the crazy thing: despite having seven power plays, none of our nine goals were on the PP. Eight even strength and one shortie.

The second half of our trip saw us in Vancouver on the next day; our first meeting with the Canucks. Mackenzie Blackwood was in the net against Kevin Lankinen. Entering this game, I was concerned. Usually when a team puts up about seven, eight, or nine goals, said team usually forgets where the net is in the next game--especially on a back-to-back. We found it six minutes in. Guess who? Nathan MacKinnon! And #29 loved putting the puck in the net so much that he decided to do it again right after. So the Avs were up 2-0 just like that, and Mack's second of the game was a PPG. However, Linus Karlsson put the Canucks on the board, and it was 2-1 after 20 minutes. Second period only saw one goal, and it was Kiefer Sherwood who put it in. So yeah, this would not be the Edmonton game.

2-2 after 40 minutes, and in the first minute of the third period, it was Artturi Lekhonen who gave us the lead. Brent Burns and Mack with the assists on that one, and both teams pressed after that. Avs had a power play, but an odd man rush led to Drew O'Connor scoring shorthanded. Tie game. We needed something. Back on the power play, and we scored on it this time! Lehkonen received a rebound from Martin Necas' shot, and put it in an open net. So we got the lead back, but Vancouver tied it again late. Jake DeBrusk on the PP, Brock Boeser and Quinn Hughes with the assists. The goal came with 3:01 left in regulation, and despite the Avs with great chances in the final seconds, we had overtime.

Of course, you know our luck with OT this year. Five times we played more than 60 minutes, and it all ended in defeat. Would the sixth time be the charm? Yes! At 1:08, Gavin Brindley's shot led to a rebound, which he put in for his third career NHL goal, his second in as many nights, and his first career OT winner. The assists: Cale Makar, and yes, Nathan MacKinnon.

What a weekend! We blow out the Oilers, and then we get our first post-regulation win of the season! We outscored our two opponents by a combined score of 14-5, and improved to 10-1-5 and 25 points, tops in the NHL! In all of this, Nathan MacKinnon had himself a weekend. Nine points in two games; four goals and five assists! If you want to look for MacKinnon's point total this season, look on his jersey. 29 points already; leading the NHL by quite a bit. They better put his name on that Hart Trophy now. I don't care that the season's a month old; they owe him after that screwjob last year.

Next up for the Avalanche is a four game homestand, beginning with the Avs hosting the first-place Anaheim Ducks (can't believe I'm saying that) on Tuesday on TNT. That's going to be a good one!

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