In a newsworthy day involving a COVID-positive test, a trade and a shutout, the story around the Avalanche on Friday was centered around defense.
Two nights after surrendering eight goals in a one-sided loss to Minnesota, Colorado was strong defensively, defeating the Anaheim Ducks 2-0 behind a 28-save shutout from goaltender Jonas Johansson at Honda Center.
The West Division-leading Avalanche had its 15-game point streak snapped in Wednesday’s 8-3 loss in Minnesota. But with the victory over Anaheim, Colorado passed Carolina with a league-high 58 points.
“Kind of a greasy road win. It wasn’t pretty by any means,” said Avs third-line center Tyson Jost. “J.J. was awesome tonight. We’re pretty ecstatic for him to get his first shutout. It’s awesome. He did a great job. He was a rock back there tonight. We relied on him heavily.”
The victory came just hours after the Avs acquired an old friend, defenseman Patrick Nemeth from Detroit.
“Happiness right now,” Johansson said of his first career NHL shutout. “I’m proud of how the guys played in front of me there at the end. I don’t think I had a lot of great scoring opportunities in the third. The guys played great in front of me.”
Earlier in the day, Avalanche rookie defenseman Bo Byram was added to the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list after testing positive, Avs coach Jared Bednar confirmed. The Avs canceled their morning skate and the players were instead isolated in their hotel rooms.
Byram’s results were from a test that was administered Thursday night. But after the rest of the team received its negative results Friday, it was all systems go for the game.
On the ice, forward Valeri Nichushkin scored the only goal on Anaheim goalie John Gibson, his fourth game-winner of the season. Top-line winger Mikko Rantanen, the NHL’s second-leading scorer (23 goals), added an empty-netter in the final minute of the third period.
The game was slow-moving in the early going and the pace started to pick after the midway point of the second period. Anaheim kept the Avs at bay for as long as possible before Nichushkin received a pass from Ryan Graves and fired it over Gibson to give the Avs a 1-0 lead late in the second.
“I didn’t think we had a lot of jump tonight. It seemed like our energy was a little bit on the low side,” Bednar said. “We did get better as the game went on. Jonas played really well in goal for us and we were able to limit their scoring chances.”
Colorado was also without defenseman Jacob MacDonald, who served the first of a two-game suspension for a hit on Minnesota’s Ryan Hartman on Wednesday. MacDonald was replaced in the lineup by 6-foot-6 Keaton Middleton, making his NHL debut. The 23-year-old is the 14th defenseman to dress for the Avalanche in 2021.
Defenseman Kyle Burroughs made his debut earlier in the week and dressed for the third consecutive game. Colorado also gave blueliner Dan Renouf a 16-game stint — his first taste of NHL action in four years.
“All of those guys have done an admirable job coming in and playing,” Bednar said of his depth defensemen. “Sometimes it’s limited ice time. We’re not getting a lot of practice time but those guys are always going on the ice for optional practices and working on their game.”
Nemeth’s acquisition will likely stabilize the Avs’ third pair and provide them with the depth they’ve yearned for. Nemeth, who signed in Detroit as an unrestricted free agent after the Avs were eliminated from the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs, is returning for a second stint.
Nemeth was originally acquired by the Avalanche off the waiver wire on Oct. 3, 2017. He went on to play 142 games with Colorado, recording four goals, 25 points and a plus-32.
The Avs sent Detroit a fourth-round draft pick in 2022 for the pending unrestricted free agent. The Red Wings also retained half of Nemeth’s $3 million cap hit.
“Nemo is a guy we know really well and we need some experienced D back there,” Bednar said of the acquisition. “He’s a guy that’s been really strong for us in the past on the penalty kill. There’s certainly a spot for him on this team.”
