The Avalanche needs a break after a grueling five-week stretch of travel, but the club is also finally starting to pile up points.
Joel Kiviranta had a natural hat trick to set new career-highs in goals and points, while Mackenzie Blackwood made 17 saves on Sunday night to help the Avs defeat the Seattle Kraken, 5-2, at Ball Arena.
Kiviranta scored the club’s final three goals, including two into the empty net.
“I was looking, thinking about (passing to) Mikko (Rantanen) there, but a hat trick is a hat trick,” Kiviranta said. “It was three good bounces today. I’m just happy we got these two points before the Christmas break.”
Kiviranta put the Avalanche ahead with 7:59 remaining in the second period. A Seattle miscommunication led to the puck drifting out in the neutral zone, where Rantanen was able to start a 2-on-1 and feed Kiviranta for his eighth goal of the season.
He added goals Nos. 9 and 10, which put him at 12 points for the season — also a new career best. Kiviranta’s previous eight-goal season came across 70 games for Dallas. Five of his 10 goals have come in the past three games. It’s his second career hat trick, with the first coming against Colorado in Game 7 of the 2020 playoffs with the Stars.
Rantanen and Cale Makar had three points each, while Nathan MacKinnon and Valeri Nichushkin had two for the Avs. They have won seven of nine heading into the break and are a season-best six games above .500 (21-15-0).
It’s the most successful stretch of an up-and-down season so far. Now, the Avs will have four days off before a game in Utah, and only one game in eight days.
“The break will be good for everyone,” said Blackwood, who will use the time off to gather more of his belongings in San Jose after joining the Avs on Dec. 9. “Rest the legs, come back refreshed. I’m sure we’ll be fine.”
Blackwood did not face a lot of great chances, but Jaden Schwartz had a breakaway in the third period with Seattle down a goal. Blackwood stoned him, much to the delight of the Ball Arena crowd.
He has been a “volume goalie” at times in his career — a netminder who performs better when he faces more shots, not less. He’s going to have games like this with Colorado, and stops at key moments when he hasn’t been busy will be just as important as the nights when the Avs need him to make lots of saves.
“Sometimes it can be challenging, staying engaged in the game when there’s big stretches where you’re not really getting action,” Blackwood said. “As I’ve gotten older, it’s gotten a little bit easier. You find some tricks to stay mentally in tune with the game not get lost a little bit.”
The Avs scored a power-play goal for the third straight game to take a 1-0 lead. Colorado’s first chance with the extra man didn’t go very well, but Seattle offered a second one less than a minute later and the Avs took full advantage.
Makar shot from the top of the zone with Nichushkin providing a screen in front. It was Makar’s 11th goal of the season, which ties him with Columbus’ Zach Werenski for the most among defensemen. He has a five-point lead on Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes, just as MacKinnon has stretched his advantage among all players to five.
Colorado’s power play was mired in a 5-for-48 funk after the loss to Vancouver six days prior, but that’s four goals in three games.
The Avs controlled the play for much of the first period — a 3-0 advantage in power-play chances didn’t hurt — but Seattle scored on just its third shot of the game late in the period.
Seattle’s recent addition, Kaapo Kakko, briefly gave the Kraken the lead with his first goal since a trade from the New York Rangers early in the second. Kakko scored off an offensive-zone faceoff win at 4:01.
MacKinnon lost that faceoff but immediately atoned. The Avs went on the attack after the next faceoff. The reigning MVP drove to the net for a shot, and Nichushkin was there to clean up his rebound, 11 seconds after the Kakko goal.
Nichushkin now has 11 goals in 19 games since returning from a six-month suspension, including a goal in four straight contests. There are only five players in the league with more since Nichushkin made his season debut.
“The thing with Val is he’s always going to be at like 80, 85% of his game or better,” Bednar said. “I’m never going to watch his game and be like, ‘Man, he was terrible tonight.’ Same with (Artturi Lehkonen). It’s just that some nights they make more plays than others. Just like anybody else, they get confidence and make more plays and get more dangerous. … He’s playing really good hockey for us.”
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