Six different Colorado Avalanche players scored goals in the 6-4 win over the Carolina Hurricanes
The Colorado Avalanche remain undefeated five games into the season after beating the Carolina Hurricanes 6-4 on Saturday night.
Six different Avalanche players contributed in the win on the power play, penalty kill and even strength.
"They're a good checking team and they work and make you earn everything. We were at times tonight but not fully through the game," head coach Jared Bednar said following the win. "When you're playing teams like that, the special teams are extra important. So the short-handed goal's huge and the power play stepping up when we needed some big goals and they got them. I think it's ultra important when you're playing a tight checking team because 5-on-5 can be difficult."
Nathan MacKinnon demonstrated his elite puck-handling skills by shaking off Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin to get a pass to Ryan Johansen. The 31-year-old forward deflected the puck past Canes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov to put the Avs on the board on the power play with less than 20 seconds left in the first period.
"It's always nice to get to swing the game the right way, and then after that we kind of rallied, got some power-play goals too. And then it felt like we had it.
"We're still trying to get all the pieces together and when we do it right, we feel like the results follow," Johansen said after the game.
Logan O'Connor opened up the scoring less than two minutes into the second period on the penalty kill. His short-handed goal was his third in as many games. He joined Joe Sakic (1998-99) as one of three players in the NHL in the last 30 years to score a SHG goal in three consecutive games.
"It's always nice, I guess to score shorthanded, especially consecutively but when Cogs (Andrew Cogliano) made a great play again tonight it's always been someone else making the play to give me the opportunity," O'Connor said.
Carolina answered with goals from Brent Burns and Michael Bunting giving the Canes the lead midway through the second.
Fredrik Olofsson scored his first of the season to tie it back up at 12:21. Artturi Lehkonen scored on the power play to give the Avs the lead, which they held on to the remainder of the game. MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen added two more in the period.
"First with the team is pretty special," Olofsson said. "It feels like it's becoming my job, coming here contributing is what I want to do. I've been in scrambles every night but I mean, it feels like something I can do."
Jaccob Slavin added another for the Canes as the only goal scored in the third period.
Colorado heads back out on the road for the next three against the New York Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres.