The Avalanche rallied late, but it wasn't enough.
There was no heroic comeback this time for the Colorado Avalanche.
The Avs suffered their first regulation loss of the season Saturday afternoon at TD Garden to the Boston Bruins in a 3-2 result.
Artturi Lehkonen scored both goals for the Avs and Nathan MacKinnon recorded a pair of assists. However, Scott Wedgewood was shaky in spots, allowing three goals on what all appeared to be routine saves as he took his first loss of the season. He finished the game with 16 saves.
Victor Arvidsson, Michael Eyssimont, and Morgan Geekie scored for the Bruins. Jeremy Swayman made 29 saves in a solid performance to improve the Bruins to 4-6.
First Period
Early in the game, Nichushkin had a golden opportunity with a wide-open net, but the puck deflected off his skates and out of reach. Moments later, a deflected puck flew into the Bruins bench and struck Charlie McAvoy, who continued playing without issue.
At 4:24 of the first period, MacKinnon gained control of the puck behind the net and sent a pass into the slot, where Lehkonen was waiting on the doorstep. Lehkonen ripped a one-timer past Swayman to give Colorado a 1–0 lead.
The Bruins went nearly nine minutes before recording their first shot on goal, as Colorado dictated the pace at both ends of the ice.
With 6:02 remaining in the period, Manson unleashed a 94 mph one-timer, but Swayman came up with a sharp blocker save to keep it a one-goal game.
Despite managing only one shot through the first 12 minutes, the Bruins responded with two goals just 39 seconds apart—capitalizing on sloppy goaltending. The first came from Victor Arvidsson, who carried the puck into the Avalanche zone and faked a wraparound, catching Wedgewood out of position before tucking the puck in for his first as a Bruin. Then, with 5:05 left in the frame, Michael Eyssimont scored on a 2-on-1 rush after Tanner Jeannot slid a perfect pass into the slot. Eyssimont finished with a smooth backhand, beating Wedgewood’s late cross-crease reaction. After a dominant opening stretch for Colorado, the Avs suddenly found themselves trailing 2–1.
Landeskog was then penalized for holding the stick, sending the Avalanche to the penalty kill.
Second Period
Landeskog’s penalty carried over into the second, but Colorado managed to kill it off. Shortly after, Ilya Solovyov was sent to the box for holding. Devon Toews intercepted a pass, but the exhausted Avs were too fatigued to capitalize on a potential 3-on-1 rush. The first penalty-kill unit stayed on the ice for about a minute and a half before changing, and the kill was successful.
The Avalanche struggled with turnovers early in the period, repeatedly putting Wedgewood under pressure. He stood tall, however, including a brilliant blocker save on a one-timer from Morgan Geekie.
Colorado earned its first power play when Pavel Zacha was called for slashing, but despite generating several good looks, the Avs failed to convert—dropping to 1-for-20 on their recent power-play opportunities. They soon received another chance when Sean Kuraly was penalized for holding Solovyov, yet again came up empty. Landeskog nearly tied it on a wide-open chance in front, but Swayman stretched out his pad for a last-second stop.
The Avalanche continued to press late in the period. Brent Burns fired a one-timer from the left circle, but once again, Swayman turned it aside to preserve Boston’s lead.
But with 5 seconds left in the period, Wedgewood was lackadaiscal as Geekie snuck one by him with no issue to make it a 3-1 game.
Third Period
With Wedgewood pulled for the extra attacker, Lehkonen netted his second goal of the game—and fourth of the season—by deftly redirecting MacKinnon’s slap shot from the point past Swayman with just 20 seconds remaining.
Trent Miner Should Have Started
The Avalanche enter this matchup on the heels of back-to-back losses, though they managed to secure a point in each—falling in overtime to the Utah Mammoth and in a shootout to the Carolina Hurricanes. The underlying issue, however, is the overuse of Wedgewood. Miner’s stellar relief effort against Carolina kept Colorado competitive down the stretch, and it defies logic to reward such a performance by relegating him to the bench once more.
With a matchup looming against the surging New Jersey Devils—one of the league’s hottest teams—it would have been far more prudent to rest Wedgewood for that challenge and give Miner the start in this contest. Instead, head coach Jared Bednar may have inadvertently boxed himself in, leaving Miner to face a high-octane Devils lineup under less-than-ideal circumstances. Hopefully Mackenzie Blackwood returns sooner rather than later.
Power Play Still Mediocre
The Avalanche have been among the league’s most dominant teams at five-on-five this season, yet their power play remains mired near the bottom of the NHL rankings. A 30-second man advantage in the third period offered another opportunity to break the slump, but—as has been the case 88.2% of the time this season—they came up empty. The stagnant power play has already cost Colorado critical points against top-tier opponents, and now it has directly contributed to a loss against a team that has struggled all year. Something must change—there are no excuses left.
But on the bright side, MacKinnon got in a few share of licks on Charlie McAvoy at the end of the game. That was a brilliant display of fistory.
Next Game
The Avalanche (5-1-3) conclude their road trip against the New Jersey Devils (7-1) at 11 a.m. MT on Altitude, Altitude+ and NHL Network.