DENVER — Head coach Jared Bednar knew his team had another gear. He said it when they were still undefeated and reiterated it last week following the blowout loss.
Wednesday night’s dominating performance against the Anaheim Ducks was what he wanted.
“That’s the gear,” Bednar said. “That’s the way I want us to play. I’ve been waiting for it and waiting for it. It just hadn’t come out of our team yet.”
The Avalanche obliterated the Ducks 8-2, scoring five times in the third period and outshooting them 38-17 in the process. Colorado had the first 11 shots, 17 of the first 18, and controlled play for nearly the entire night. It was a masterclass performance and the type of game expected from such a deep team. Samuel Girard, Valeri Nichushkin (two goals), Fredrik Olofsson, Ross Colton, Joel Kiviranta, Andrew Cogliano and Devon Toews scored for the 10-5-0 Avs. The team has 13 goals in its last five periods of hockey dating back Mikko Rantanen’s goal in the second period against the Kraken on Monday.
Bednar credited his squad for working on the little details to not only reach the high expectations he sets but to also use them to take full advantage of a team on the second leg of a back-to-back.
“The better we check, the more we create, the more we’re in tune with our details, the better our execution is,” Bednar said. “That’s what we saw the final two in Seattle and two periods tonight.
“We’re in a fortunate spot tonight. They played last night, they’re coming in a little bit tired. We’re rested and ready to go and we’re coming off a good game. So I expected us to have a good game tonight.”
Defenseman Cale Makar was the top set-up man, recording three assists, two of which were primary. Makar was carted into the X-ray room following the first period and later confirmed that he got an X-ray. Makar played 22:13 and did not miss a shift the rest of the way.
“Yeah, I’m good. I should be good,” Makar told me. “Just precautionary stuff. It’s been kind of a long little bit from the second game of the season. So yeah, should be all good.”
Colorado took a 3-1 lead into the third period against a Ducks team that has built a reputation for late-game comebacks. The prior night, Anaheim erased a two-goal deficit in Nashville and won in regulation.
But the Avs didn’t let up.
First, Colton used his speed to beat his defenseman wide off the rush and put his fifth of the season past goalie Lukas Dostal. Less than two minutes later, Nichushkin redirected a Makar shot for his fifth.
Enter the Kiviranta show.
In just his second game since signing a one-year contract with Colorado, Kiviranta was noticeable in a big way. He was paired with Olofsson and Cogliano on the fourth line for the first time and each of them had a goal. Kiviranta also pitched in with two assists. Already with a secondary helper on the Olofsson goal, Kiviranta busted through two Ducks defenders after receiving a pass from Girard and beat Dostal for his first of the season.
And 21 seconds later, he used his speed to separate himself once again, this time to set up Cogliano for his third point. Kiviranta’s two assists are already more than the one he had in 70 games with the Dallas Stars last year — the team the Avs face on Saturday.
“It’s almost like that one shift went perfectly,” Kiviranta told me.
The goal-scoring started in the first period with Girard, who finally put home his first of the season. Girard scooped up a rebound in the blue paint after a Jack Johnson shot was stopped by Dostal. The Avs added to their lead six minutes later thanks to the first of two redirection goals for Nichushkin. The top-line forward tipped a Toews’ shot past the goalie to make it 2-0.
With just 32 seconds remaining in the first, Anaheim got a goal from Sam Carrick. Defenseman Radko Gudas fired a shot from the point with traffic in front of Avs netminder Alexandar Georgiev for a redirection goal. It was just the Ducks’ second shot of the game.
Georgiev finished with 15 saves on what was a relatively easy night.
“The last two games, I feel like he fits the exact mold of our team. Just sharper, better focus and preparation,” Bednar said of Georgiev, who improved to 9-4-0 on the season. Georgiev’s nine wins are the most in the NHL.
Colorado only managed one goal in the second period despite having ample opportunity to build on their lead. Both Miles Wood and Logan O’Connor were stopped on shorthanded breakaways. Colorado was a perfect 4-for-4 on the penalty kill, which includes a double minor for high sticking called on Rantanen. They were also 1-for-4 on the power play.