Colorado worked hard against St. Louis in a give-and-go game that showcased a battle of the goalies.
Ryan Johansen notched two points, including his 200th career goal in the Avalanche's 2-1 win over the St. Louis Blues Friday night at Enterprise Center.
The Blues owned the first 10-plus minutes of the game in the Avs D-zone but either missed scoring opportunities or were denied by netminder Alexandar Georgiev.
Johansen nabbed a rebound save and flipped it over Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington's shoulder at 4:49 in the first period to give the Avalanche a 1-0 lead.
"It's nice to produce in games like this to be a difference maker. Like we've talked about through the years, I just want to continue to have impacts in these tough games. It was a fun win tonight," Johansen said.
The momentum shifted back and forth with repeated turnovers and missed scoring chances on both teams throughout the matchup. A crucial Avalanche turnover with three and a half minutes left in the period resulted in a shorthanded breakaway goal for Blues forward Robert Thomas to tie it up.
"We knew it was going to be a tight game, it's always playing tight with St. Louis, so whether it was a one nothing, 2-1 game like it was, we just wanted to stick with it," Cale Makar said.
The 25-year-old defenseman said the team needed to demonstrate patience and not try to win every shift throughout the game. The group as a whole didn't waiver from their work ethic and that's something that needs to become more consistent.
"I think tonight's game just shows that everybody's head can be in the right space, it's just now we need it on a consistent basis every single night regardless of who the team is — playing like we expect it to be 2-1 outcome and we'll get our chance," Makar said.
Nathan MacKinnon's point streak came to an end at 19 games as he failed to get on the scoresheet. But Johansen said it was a "character win" with a full team effort to earn the two points.
"That's how we need to win games, especially on the road. It's a feel-good win, we'll enjoy it tonight and look to build off it," the 31-year-old forward said.
As for the team's hard work paying off, head coach Jared Bednar said the game was a good lesson for his players to continue their hard work and it will pay off.
"If you defend hard, defend the right way — it wasn't always perfect. You need your goalie to make some saves at times, their goalie did, our goalie did," Bednar said. "But just like the dedication and commitment to try and keep the scoring chances against down — it was there. We definitely made some mistakes but I want to have that mentality and that consistency in it on a nightly basis. You have to, it's what the league requires if you're gonna win hockey games."
The Avalanche face off against the San Jose Sharks back at Ball Arena on New Year's Eve.
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