The Cheat Sheet: Nathan MacKinnon - Rocket Richard - Colorado Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar attributes Thursday's loss against the Carolina Hurricanes to special teams and a better opponent. The Colorado Avalanche went into the last 20 minutes of regulation playing their best hockey of the game. Slow starts have been a handicap for the Avalanche through their first 27 games, but that doesn't seem to be the root of tonight's problems for the team. > "I thought we were sometimes trying to make the most difficult pass. I think > [when] playing Carolina, it's got to be the simplest form of your game that > there is until you can create space and find space and back them out of it a > little bit. The only line that seemed to do that was the MacKinnon line... > They did some really good things throughout the course of the night, but the > other lines just struggled with the pace of tonight's game." - He went on to say that their "slow start" lasted 45 minutes. "It wasn't really a slow start, it was them outplaying us." Despite Artturi Lehkonen's goal in the first period, it seemed like no one outside of Colorado's top line could find their game. To attest to that, Colorado went into the first intermission with just six shots on goal, a far cry from Carolina's 15. Nothing came out of the second period for the Avalanche, but it seemed like towards the beginning of the third, their game started looking a little more familiar. Passes started to connect, the forecheck looked a lot stronger, movement through the neutral zone looked a little faster and cleaner, and finally, just before the 15-minute mark of the third, Valeri Nichushkin got the Avalanche back into the game. Things only got crazier from there. After Nichushkin's first goal, Carolina Forward Martin Necas joined in on the scoring, reclaiming the Hurricanes' two-goal lead. Nichushkin wasn't happy with just one, though, and netted another to answer Necas' goal not even a minute later. Bednar pulled Scott Wedgewood to the bench, giving the Avalanche an extra skater to help accomplish their bid to tie things up. The Hurricanes, though, take full advantage of the empty net and Andrei Svechnikov polishes off the win, capping off a 5-3 win over the Avalanche. The Avalanche went 3/5 on the penalty kill, contributing to their 72.2% success rate this season. This success rate puts them at 28th in league standings on the PK. While not being able to hold onto a perfect kill on the night, their man advantage also came up short, going 0-for-3. MARTIN NECAS WINS THE RACE TO 40 POINTS With a secondary assist on Eric Robinson's goal in the first period, Necas was the first player to hit 40 points on the season. Tonight's achievement made the Czechia-born forward the fastest skater to 40 points in Hurricanes/Whalers franchise history. Nathan MacKinnon also secured a point tonight, earning the primary assist on Nichushkin's second goal of the night and getting him to that 40-point mark. Despite that, Necas still holds the position as the NHL points leader with tonight's game-winning goal for the Hurricanes, putting him at 41 points at the conclusion of Thursday's game. MacKinnon currently holds 2nd in the standings with 40. Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov (52) stops the scoring attempt by Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) during the first period at Lenovo Center. [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjExMTk4NjM2MzM4NDU2MjUz/usatsi_24920872.jpg] Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov (52) stops the scoring attempt by Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) during the first period at Lenovo Center. SCOTT WEDGEWOOD'S FIRST START AS AN AV Despite the score, Wedgewood's first start in the crease with his new team should be a start he's satisfied with. The first three goals from the Hurricanes were either nearly impossible to stop or poor choices from the team defending him. Whether it was a tip-in, defense not applying tight enough pressure, or an accidental screen, things just weren't going Wedgewood's way. The tip-in from Eric Robinson came after an incredible performance from the netminder, one that he carried into the second period despite the goals from Seth Jarvis and Jack Roslovic. Even the power play goal that earned Necas his 41st point, his sight on the puck was slightly impaired thanks to a screen from Andrei Svechnikov. "I thought he was sharp for a lot of [the game]," Bednar said of Wedgewood's performance. "Looked like maybe he got worn down a little bit, but he gave us a chance." Colorado Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood (41) looks on before the start of the game against the Carolina Hurricanes at Lenovo Center. [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjExMTk5Mjk4NTY4NzI2NDg3/usatsi_24920868.jpg] Colorado Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood (41) looks on before the start of the game against the Carolina Hurricanes at Lenovo Center. WHAT'S NEXT? The Avalanche will play their third game of the road trip on Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings. This will be their third of five games before they return home to Denver to face off against the Utah Hockey Club on Thursday, 12/12.
