Riley Tufte netted his first as an Av while Jonathan Drouin and Cale Makar had two-point games in the 5-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Nov. 22, 2023. Penalties were aplenty but the Avalanche's full team effort earned them the 5-2 win against the Vancouver Canucks Wednesday night at Ball Arena. Some highly-questionable calls by the refs — including a five-minute major and game misconduct handed to Josh Manson — plagued the second period but the penalty kill was on point and kept the Avs in the game. Colorado proved the extent of its depth with five different goal scorers contributing to the scoresheet. "We had a nice effort from a lot of guys tonight throughout our lineup," head coach Jared Bednar said after the win. Valeri Nichushkin scored his eighth goal of the season and fifth in consecutive games for a career record. Cale Makar had two points for his fifth consecutive multi-point game and set a new record for the franchise as a defenseman. The 25-year-old also broke his previously set franchise record for most assists in a month by a defenseman. Third-line staples — Ross Colton and Miles Wood — proved to be effective in creating scoring chances with whoever is on their line. Riley Tufte slid a rebound off a Wood shot past Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko for the game-winning goal 1:24 into the third period. "We need guys like that (Tufte). Obviously you're going to have injuries throughout the season — to be able to call guys up to be able to have them come into the lineup and then help us in whatever way they can — obviously Tufts with a big one tonight," Makar said. Jonathan Drouin scored a goal and had an assist but didn't feel it was his best game so far this season. "I've had some better games at zero points, to be honest, where they don't go in," Drouin said after the win. "But it's nice to get rewarded sometimes where you're just standing in the right spot at the right moment." It may not have been his best, but Bednar felt he has stepped up his game. "His game is starting to come. You can see the more quickness, hungrier in puck battles, he's coming up with some pucks — forecheck, neutral zone forecheck," Bednar said about Drouin. "I'd say he's been on a steady improvement last five, six games and you can start seeing his skill come out so it's a good, good time for him to start ramping up his game for us." Alexandar Georgiev stopped 27 shots and was impressed with his team's play and effort in the win. "We just played smart hockey, the whole game," Georgiev said. "... We all played great. The third period I don't think the other team had much going on until end of the period, we were just playing so well." Mikko Rantanen scored an empty-netter with less than four minutes left in the game on an assist from Nathan MacKinnon. The Canucks game was the first of three in four days as the Avalanche face off against the Minnesota Wild on Friday night at Xcel Energy Center and then the Calgary Flames back at Ball Arena on Saturday night. Bednar said Logan O'Connor was out with a lower-body injury and is day-to-day. Samuel Girard remains away from the team for personal reasons.
