The Avalanche exploded for four goals in the second period, chasing the Blues into a 6-0 hole while Jordan Binnington endured a nightmarish outing.
DENVER — The Avalanche turned a slow start into a runaway performance Saturday night, scoring twice in the opening period before pouring it on in the second. Colorado added four more goals in the middle frame, including two in a span of 1:58, to take a commanding 6-0 lead into the second intermission.
First Period
The start of the game was a little dull, with three icing calls in the opening 36 seconds.
Colorado soon found its legs and began generating some high-danger opportunities, including a rebound chance for Jaden Schwartz, who won a Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019. But Jordan Binnington stretched across the crease and made the splits to take away the opportunity.
Cale Makar opened the scoring 4:10 into the first period with his first goal of the season.
Martin Necas took a pass from Nathan MacKinnon in the low slot and closed in on Binnington before deftly sliding the puck across to Makar at the doorstep. Binnington couldn’t get across in time, and Makar buried the chance to give Colorado a 1-0 lead.
The Blues nearly answered around the eight-minute mark when Dalibor Dvorsky set up Jonatan Berggren for a dangerous chance from the slot. With the left side of the net open, Makar tied up Berggren as he tried to get the shot away, preventing what could have been a golden opportunity for St. Louis.
Colorado then earned its first power play of the night after Blues forward Zach Dean was called for slashing T.J. Hughes. After going 4-for-5 with the man advantage on opening night, however, the Avalanche couldn’t convert on their first opportunity against St. Louis.
Necas doubled Colorado’s lead with 6:48 remaining in the period after the Blues turned the puck over in their own zone. MacKinnon recovered the puck and quickly slid it to Necas in the low slot, where he snapped a shot past Binnington to make it 2-0.
Second Period
Colorado picked up right where it left off in the second period.
Josh Manson tripled the Avalanche’s lead 5:38 into the frame, blasting a one-timer from the point off a feed from Nic Roy. The puck caught Binnington’s stick and deflected into the net to make it 3-0.
During the ensuing sequence, Roy was sent to the penalty box for slashing, giving the Blues their first power-play opportunity of the night. Colorado’s penalty kill stood tall, however, and the Avalanche returned to full strength without allowing St. Louis to cut into the deficit.
By the midway point of the period, Colorado had built a 17-9 advantage in shots on goal as the Avalanche continued to control the game.
Roy then got his goal back with 1:58 remaining in the period, ripping a wrist shot past Binnington to make it 4-0.
Nicolas Roy made it 5-0 after the Blues failed to clear the puck out of their own zone. Roy recovered it and quickly fired a wrist shot that deflected off Binnington and into the net.
The Avalanche weren’t done.
Binnington ventured behind his net to play the puck again, but MacKinnon beat him to it and quickly found Necas in the low slot. With the net completely exposed, Necas had little trouble finishing the play, scoring his second of the night to make it 6-0.
It was Necas’ second goal of the game and his second of the season.
Third Period
St. Louis put the shutout talk to rest by scoring early in the third after Josh Manson lost control of a puck in front of Blackwood, which allowed Dvorsky to lift a backhand by the netminder to put the deficit at five.
Dean was penalized for the second time in the game for cross-checking at 7:04, which gave the Avalanche their third man advantage of the evening, but they failed to convert.
