Colorado Secures Win Over Wild with an Avalanche of Goals

Scoring in St. Paul

The Avalanche beat the Minnesota Wild 6-1 at the Xcel Energy Center on Thursday. Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Jonathan Drouin and Josh Manson each recorded two points while Logan O'Connor, Ross Colton, Parker Kelly, and Artturi Lehkonen each added a goal. In net, Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 24 of the 25 shots he faced, including 13 in the third period.

"I really liked a lot of things in our game tonight," Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar said. "And [it] started with just the attention to detail in our game that we felt like was required."

With the win, the Avalanche improved to 26-16-1.

"Overall, [it was a] really good team effort when it comes talking, defending, committed with and without the puck," Bednar said. "So [it was a] really good game from our guys."

How It Happend

O'Connor opened the scoring at 3:46 of the first period with his fifth goal of the season via a wrist shot from the high slot after he got behind the Minnesota defenders and received a lead pass from Manson.

"I thought OC (Logan O'Connor) was fantastic, too," Bednar said. "Creating scoring chances on his own with his speed. [At] even strength, [on the] penalty kill, the whole deal."

At 16:52 of the first period, Colton scored his 13th goal of the season with a shot from the doorstep after intercepting Wild defenseman Declan Chisholm's breakout pass.

Zach Bogosian put the Wild on the board with a wrist shot from the low slot at 18:27 of the opening frame.

Scoring his team-leading 25th goal of the season, Rantanen doubled Colorado's lead with a wrist shot from the high slot after receiving MacKinnon's drop pass at 13:00 of the second period.

Kelly scored his fourth goal of the season to give the Avs a 4-1 lead at 4:23 of the third period with a left-circle one-timer set up by Joel Kiviranta's feed.

Scoring short-handed, Lehkonen tallied his 15th goal of the season at 7:42 of the third with a right-circle one-timer set up by Manson, who picked up the puck in his own zone before skating up the ice and assisting on the goal.

"He was outstanding tonight," Bednar said about Manson. "That's what he can do, right? It's super aggressive defending. It's physical all over the ice. It's [playing] hard in all the right areas. And then he chips in on the offensive side, and he shows his skill off, too. So, a very well-rounded game, and one of his best."

MacKinnon put the Avalanche up 6-1 with his 15th goal of the season at 8:48 of the third period when he picked up the puck at the point, skated past Wild forward Joel Eriksson Ek, and scored from via a wrist shot at the top of the right circle.

Next Up

The Avalanche conclude their three-game road trip against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday at 5 p.m. MT on Altitude, My20, NHL Network and Altitude+.