SALT LAKE CITY — Maybe it doesn’t matter who else is missing for the Colorado Avalanche, as long as Jared Bednar can start his lineup card with Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Mikko Rantanen.
The Avs are officially rolling, wiping out the Utah Hockey Club on their first trip to Delta Center with a 5-1 win. It completed a three-game sweep on this road trip and was a fourth consecutive victory.
Colorado is still missing four key forwards who count more than $20 million against the salary cap. The Avs added another critical player to the list Thursday night, but also made it back to .500 after dropping the first four games of the season.
“I think we’ve got a deeper team than people think,” Avs forward Casey Mittelstadt, who finished with a goal and two assists, said. “Guys have been stepping up all year, especially on this road trip. We’ve got some injuries for sure, but it’s an opportunity for the next guy.”
The power play continues to carve up opponents, regardless of who joins the top unit. And goaltender Justus Annunen clocked his third straight strong start, though the defensive effort in front of him was suffocating at times.
Ross Colton continued his torrid start to the season and put the Avs on the board first. Colorado had a lengthy 5-on-3 that generated nothing of note, but near the end of the second penalty, Rantanen fed Colton for a one-timer at 9:54 of the opening period.
Colton now has seven goals in eight games to start the season. Four goals have come on the man advantage, and six of the seven have been one-timers. He did leave this game in the second period with an upper-body injury and did not return. Bednar said Colton took a slash on the hand and will be re-evaluated when the club returns to Denver.
Makar extended his lead atop the NHL scoring race with a goal with 1:40 left in the opening period. A quick, short pass from Rantanen sprung Makar for a rush down the right wing, and his wrist shot beat Utah goalie Karel Vejmelka for his third goal and 15th point.
The Avs’ second line created the third goal with a strong shift in the offensive zone. Nikolai Kovlaneko made nice plays, including a give-and-go with Sam Malinski. The defenseman drove around the net for a wrap attempt, and Mittelstadt was there to clean up the rebound at 14:25 of the second.
“I liked those guys a lot,” Bednar said of the second line. “I thought (O’Connor) really led the way with the work ethic part of it. Then (Mittelstadt) had a great night. He was really creative, made a lot of plays and defended hard. (Kovalenko) chipped in as well. It might have been the best, complete game from that line.”
After Colton left the game, his replacement on the top line and first power-play unit, rookie Ivan Ivan, collected his first NHL goal to make it a four-goal advantage. Like Colton has several times, Ivan found a soft spot in the middle of the ice with Colorado on a power play, and MacKinnon found him for a one-timer.
“I don’t really remember much from that moment, but yeah, this feels amazing,” Ivan said. “The last couple weeks have been pretty, pretty awesome.”
Lawson Crouse ended Annunen’s shutout bid when he split two Avalanche defensemen and scored with 4:32 left in the third period. Joel Kiviranta answered with his fourth goal for Colorado in the past three games 39 seconds later. Kiviranta had three goals last season for the Avs.
Makar leads the NHL with 15 points. MacKinnon and Rantanen are part of a group of players tied for second with 13. Colton and Mittelstadt have been the two players who provided the most help, but even after the former left this game other Avs found a way to contribute.
They’ve also found a new level of commitment without the puck, which was absent for stretches of the four-game losing streak to start the season. After a slow start, it was all about survival with players like Valeri Nichushkin, Artturi Lehkonen and Gabriel Landeskog missing, and Jonathan Drouin joining them after being injured in the opener.
It now looks like the Avs have found their footing this season and are thriving despite the shorthanded roster.
“We know the guys that we have out and what they can do, but we always kind of felt like we’re good enough to win without them if we play the right way,” Bednar said. “Guys have had to dig in, especially with the slow start.
“You see a team dig in and play the right way and they’re getting rewarded for it.”
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