The Avalanche Sin Bin

The Colorado Avalanche edged the New York Rangers 3-2 in a shootout on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden. The matchup kicked off a three-game road trip in the Tri-State. With the win, the Avalanche improve to 4-2-1 on the season.  Valeri Nichushkin scored on the power play, while Logan O'Connor scored shorthanded. Alexandar Georgiev made 44 saves, including three saves in overtime - against his former tram. For the Rangers, Barclay Goodrow had a goal and an assist, and Adam Fox found the back of the bet. Igor Shesterkin made 42 saves on 44 shots in an incredible performance despite taking the loss.

It was close and then it wasn't. The Colorado Avalanche were in a tight one against the rival Minnesota Wild on Monday. But the Avs surged ahead to win their third game of the season with a 6-3 final score on the road. Ben Meyers scored first blood at 3:30 with a great deflection on an Erik Johnson shot that flew over the shoulder of Wild netminder  Filip Gustavsson. Reminiscent of the game against the Calgary Flames, the opening lead was short-lived for the defending Stanley Cup champions, as Kirill Kaprizov scored just 44 seconds later on a delayed penalty. Before the end of the frame, Sam Girard pounded one into the net at 15:08. Despite a topsy-turvy start, the Avalanche held a 2-1 lead after the first period. In the second period the Avalanche took firm control of the puck, but the two squads still found themselves in a net derby. Joel Eriksson Ek tied the game up on the power play at 6:09. But the Avalanche capitalized on a crucial miscue as Mikko Rantanen nudged the puck hom...

CALGARY --  The Calgary Flames kicked off the new season with a 5-3 win over the defending champion Colorado Avalanche at Scotiabank Saddledome on Thursday.  Thure Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri each had an assist in their debut with their respective new club. Huberdeau was acquired with MacKenzie Weegar in a trade with the Florida Panthers in exchange for Matthew Tkachuk on July 22. Kadri, who won the Stanley Cup with Colorado last season, signed a seven-year, $49 million contract ($7 million AAV) with Calgary on Aug. 18. "We're going to try to contribute as much as possible," Kadri said. "I don't know if that's going to result on the scoreboard every single time, but we find different ways to contribute and, you know, we play as a team, and that's the most important thing." Rasmus Andersson had a goal and an assist, and Weegar contributed with two assists for the Flames, who won their season opener for the first time in 13 seasons, with Jacob Ma...

DENVER — Artturi Lehkonen and Valeri Nichushkin each scored two power-play goals, Mikko Rantanen contributed four assists and the reigning Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche kicked off their title defense with a resounding 5-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night at Ball Arena. After raising their third Cup banner to the rafters, the Avalanche began the season right where they left off: scoring goals. Andrew Cogliano deflected a shot from Nathan MacKinnon, fresh off a new eight-year, $100.8 million extension to score Colorado's first marker of the season. He ended the game with two assists, while new goaltender Alexandar Georgiev stopped 15 of 17 shots. Jonathan Toews and Max Domi, the son of former Toronto Maple Leafs enforcer Tie Domi, scored for the Blackhawks. Petr Mrazek got in a workout, finishing with 30 saves on 35 shots. Captain Gabriel Landeskog missed the season-opener due to a lingering lower-body injury he sustained last season. The 29-year-old m...

The   Colorado Avalanche concluded preseason festivities with a 2-1 victory over the Dallas Stars. The Recap Following a scoreless opening period, the Stars struck first with a goal from Riley Damiani at 4:27 after both teams traded rush chances. Colorado shook off the rink rust in the third and the defending champions finally pressed on the gas pedal. Logan O'Connor scored at 12:36 on a saucer pass from Ben Meyers that led to a garbage goal. Mikko Rantanen sealed the deal after taking a superb feed from Sam Girard to score the go-ahead goal at 17:42. Rantanen looked shaky earlier in the game, but delivered when his team needed him the most. The Stars pulled their goalie late to get an extra attacker, but their bid to nod up the score failed. Takeaways The Avalanche finished the preseason 3-3 and enter the new year with no significant injuries. Alexandar Georgiev picked up the pace after a poor performance against the Vegas Knights on Sept. 28. Ben Meyers picked a great time to hav...