ST. PAUL, Minn. — A couple of guys with Minnesota ties were making their first appearances at Xcel Energy Center in a Colorado Avalanche uniform. One State of Hockey great might have been making his last.
But it was the two Halifax Mooseheads who added another chapter to an incredible season and helped the Avalanche collect a much-needed win Thursday night against the Minnesota Wild to try and keep pace with the Central Division-leading Dallas Stars.
Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin had three points each to help the Avs fend off the pesky Wild in a 5-2 victory. The win moved Colorado to within three points of the Stars. Both teams have six games to play.
“The most comfortable I’ve felt (is) the past couple weeks, especially playing with those guys,” Drouin said of Colorado’s top line. “I feel like I’m in the right spot. I’m not nervous. I’m not overwhelmed by it. I’m excited to play with those guys.”
MacKinnon’s goal 6:32 into the third period gave the Avalanche some much-needed breathing room after the home side had been pushing for an equalizer. Cale Makar checked the puck away from Minnesota’s Joel Eriksson Ek in the high slot, and then MacKinnon and Drouin went to work.
MacKinnon sent the puck to Drouin, who returned the favor with a great pass to set him free for a shot back to the left as Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson got caught leaning too far the other way. It was MacKinnon’s 48th goal of the year. Mikko Rantanen added an empty-net goal to end any doubt.
“(Drouin) is making really nice plays,” Rantanen said. “You can tell his confidence has been going (up) all year, so it’s great. It’s important. He’s playing well at the most important of the time of the year.”
Drouin’s first goal gave the Avalanche a 2-1 lead. Colorado caught a break when a tripping penalty was called on Kirill Kaprizov but a simultaneous trip of Eriksson Ek was not adjudicated. The Avs wasted little time. Drouin batted the rebound of a Makar shot from the top of the zone into the net for his 16th goal of the season.
He added No. 17 just 43 seconds into the second period. Rantanen made a great play to get the play started in the offensive zone, and eventually Drouin tipped a blast from the top of the zone by MacKinnon past Gustavsson to give the Avs a 3-1 lead.
“We didn’t talk about it yet, so I don’t know if it was on purpose or not,” Drouin said. “With him, I usually think it’s on purpose. I just try to get around my defender for two or three seconds and that puck was right on my stick.”
At that point, it felt like Colorado was in control. The Wild clawed back, controlling large portions of the second period and creating lots of quality chances. Declan Chisholm made it a 3-2 score midway through the period with a power-play goal.
The shots were 18-8 in the middle frame, but Justus Annunen made several quality saves. Drouin also made the defensive play of the game in the first minute of the third period.
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Matt Boldy pressured Annunen behind the net and the puck squirted out in front of an empty cage. Marcus Johansson had the angle to get to it, but Drouin lifted his stick instead of lunging for the puck and erased the danger.
Avs coach Jared Bednar said Annunen, who finished with 44 saves, had a slow start but was exceptional after the second goal.
“A couple of times I’ve noticed with him, his mental strength is pretty good,” Rantanen said. “He lets up an early goal sometimes, like today, but then he just shuts you down almost for the rest of the game. The way he’s poised in the net, I really enjoy playing in front of him.”
Artturi Lehkonen put the Avalanche on the board first. Minnesota native Casey Mittelstadt won a faceoff in the Wild zone, and Lehkonen was able to score on his second try after collecting the rebound of a Jack Johnson point shot 4:34 into the opening period.
The Wild responded less than four minutes later when Vinni Lettieri’s one-timer from the right point beat Annunen off the far post to even the score at 1-1.
This game was the first one back for former Wild glue guy Brandon Duhaime after the Avs acquired him before the trade deadline, and he received a warm welcome. It also might have been the final one at The X for Zach Parise, a Minneapolis native who played nine seasons for the Wild.
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