In the first game after losing Nathan MacKinnon for the season, the Colorado Avalanche throttled the Columbus Blue Jackets to the tune of 4-0.
The Avalanche (29-25-11) came out of the gate scorching hot and scored three goals – two on the power play – in the first 10 minutes of the contest. The Blue Jackets (27-34-4) were never able to recover on a night in which Semyon Varlamov was perfect.
Making his 21st consecutive start, Varlamov turned away all 44 of the shots he faced en route to his fifth shutout of the season. Of his 18 career shutouts, three have come against the Blue Jackets.
The Avalanche have now won seven of their last 10 games as they try desperately to stay above water in the competitive race for the final playoff spots in the Western Conference.
Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie led the way with three assists — two of which came of the primary fashion.
Jarome Iginla and Gabriel Landeskog got things started early with back-to-back power play markers 1:27 apart.
Iginla scored on a one-timed bomb from the point off a pass from Barrie with a 5-on-3 advantage. The Avalanche are tied for the league with five 5-on-3 goals on the season.
Beofre the second power play expired, Landeskog took a feed in front of the net and wrapped the puck around Curtis McElhinney at 3:51 of the first period. The Avalanche captain is red hot with 8 goals and 13 points in the last 11 contests.
Matt Duchene made it 3-0 midway through the period with a nasty breakaway goal after he stole the puck at the Colorado’s blue line.
The Blue Jackets replaced McElhinney with their regular starter, Sergei Bobrovsky, in the first intermission.
Alex Tanguay put the nail in the coffin with a third period goal. The veteran’s uncanny patience was on full display as he out waited a sprawled defenseman before ripping a shot through Bobrovsky’s legs.
It was the first night of a back-to-back for the Avalanche, who will visit the Minnesota Wild on Sunday.
Nathan is a staff writer for Mile High Sports. He can be reached on Twitter at @TheRealNatron.
