(Ron Chenoy, USA TODAY Sports)
The Colorado Avalanche are starting to heat up, beating the Minnesota Wild Friday for their second consecutive win and improving to 35-24-2 this season. The Avalanche are now just two standings points behind the Wild for third place in the Central Division, although Minnesota has one game in hand on the Avs. But here are three takeaways from Colorado's win:
1. Avalanche show spunk, overcome two Wild leads early on to eventally pull out win
The Wild started Friday's game strongly, getting the game's first goal at the 4:14 mark of the first period -- then, after Colorado tied it on a Valeri Nichushkin marker at 13:58, Minnesota went up 2-1 with 2:18 left in the opening frame.
But the Avalanche refused to give up in a crucial divisional game. and in the second period, they got three unanswered goals, including two in a 52-second span near the middle point of the period. And they added another two goals -- including an empty-net goal with eight seconds left in regulation time -- to lock up the win. Colorado's dogged determination was more than the Wild could handle, and this was a win that, after the second period, wasn't really in doubt.
2. Colton comes up big, Kylington chips in on offense to lead way for Avs' point-producers
Most nights, the Avalanche rely on superstars Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar to do the heavy lifting on offense. But this wasn't one of those nights, although MacKinnon and Makar each had an assist. However, it was forward Ross Colton who led the way for Colorado's offensive attack, scoring twice -- his 14th and 15th goal of the season -- and adding an assist in the win.
Meanwhile, defenseman Oliver Kylington also had a solid night offensively, posting two assists -- both of them primary assists -- to take the heat off of Makar. That type of secondary scoring is exactly what the Avs need if they're going to leapfrog over Minnesota, and it was heartening for Avalanche fans to see other players stepping up and doing damage on the scoresheet.
3. Defense, power play crucial factors for Avalanche in win as Colorado goes up in season series against Wild
As the scoresheet indicated, the Avs played great defense Friday. After surrendering 10 shots to the Wild in the first period, the Avalanche gave up only 10 shots in total in the final two periods. And that made goalie Mackenzie Blackwood's job much easier.
In addition, the Avs' power play was a positive factor in the win, as Colorado scored twice with the man-advantage to keep their foot on the gas and prevent Minnesota from getting back into the contest.
All-in-all, this was a must-win for the Avalanche as they focused on getting closer to the Wild in the standings. It's going to be difficult for Colorado to catch second-place-in-the-Central Dallas, as they're currently six points ahead of the Avs, with two games in hand on the Avalanche. But getting out of the wild card picture isn't unreasonable for Colorado, and more all-around solid games like this one are a positive harbinger for what's ahead for the Avs.