Bowen Byram scored his ninth goal of the season and Nathan MacKinnon played his 700th game of his career in the 5-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks on March 27.
DENVER – Bowen Byram scored his ninth of the season and the Colorado Avalanche got goals from five different players to beat the Anaheim Ducks 5-1 Monday night.
The Avalanche started slow in the first period and Ducks forward Derek Grant capitalized on a turnover from defenseman Cale Makar to strike first in the contest. But the team quickly found its legs and answered back with a goal at 15:43 from defenseman Bowen Byram.
Forward Nathan MacKinnon scored the game-winning goal in his 700th game with the team to put the Avalanche up 2-1 at the end of the first.
The Avs momentum continued in the second with goals from defenseman Jack Johnson at 2:05 into the period and another from forward Valeri Nichushkin less than two minutes later which put them up 4-1 going into the third period.
Defenseman Samuel Girard took a pass from Byram that was knocked down by forward Evan Rodrigues to put it past Ducks goaltender John Gibson in a wide-open net to make it 5-1.
Perseverance on back-to-back road games
After a tough-fought shootout win against the Arizona Coyotes the day before, the Colorado Avalanche managed to find the intensity to win this game.
“I just thought we kept playing the game to the right level of intensity,” head coach Jared Bednar said after the win. “I thought we got comfortable in the Arizona game and kind of eased off it a little bit, in our checking game especially. And tonight we just kept playing, doing what we were doing in the second period.”
Byram has now scored four goals in the last nine games. He had a career-high seven shots on goal and attributed his success Monday night to his forwards creating scoring opportunities for him. He said that it’s a tight race right now and those chances mean a lot.
“I think sometimes we just know we have to simplify a little bit and maybe you’re not going to have the legs you want or the energy levels that you want, but I think we do a good job of just simplifying a little bit and making sure that our defensive details are in check,” Byram said following the win at the Honda Center in Anaheim.
“I thought we played a mature third period there. It’s kind of hard sometimes but JoJo played really well again,” Byram said. “It’s always nice having him back there. We’re confident in him so we just try to keep some pucks away from our net for him.”
Johnson and Johnson make a good line
Jack Johnson scored his first goal of the season in an Avs sweater and said playing with defenseman Erik Johnson is comfortable.
“We pretty much know what each other’s going to do. We’ve known each other for since we were about 15 years old,” Johnson said of his teammate Johnson. “When we play together, it’s like riding a bike. He’s been a special partner for me throughout my entire hockey life, so it’s always fun to play with him.”
Down the stretch: Tough games ahead
The Avalanche will face off at Ball Arena against the Minnesota Wild, who are currently one point ahead in the Central Division after a 5-1 win against the Seattle Kraken. Although the Wild are missing one of their top scorers, Kirill Kaprizov, that hasn’t slowed them down going 6-1-2 since the forward sustained a lower-body injury against the Winnipeg Jets on March 8.
Saturday night the Avalanche remain at home and will face the Dallas Stars. The Stars have only won three of their last seven games and are 1 for 3 against the Avalanche this season.