A lot happened at Ball Arena on Sunday night. Fifteen goals, one serious injury scare, a three-goal lead squandered, and then Cale Makar playing the hero at 2:54 of the third period. The Colorado Avalanche beat the Minnesota Wild 9-6 in Game 1 of their second-round series, and it was barely as comfortable as the scoreline suggests.
The Makar Moment
Less than five minutes in, Marcus Foligno caught Makar along the end boards with a huge hit. The Colorado defenceman’s right leg shot up off the ice before he went down. He left the game. The kind of moment where you start running the numbers on how different this series looks without him.
He came back for the second period.
By the third, he was the best player on the ice. Makar scored twice in the final period, the second with 2:54 remaining to make it 8-6 and effectively seal it. Nathan MacKinnon added an empty-netter with 2:08 left to put the final score on the board.
MacKinnon finished the game with 2 goals and 1 assist. Three points. That is the standard he has set. What made Sunday unusual was the context: Colorado blew a three-goal lead before Makar’s pair brought them home.
The Game in Numbers
15 combined goals. That puts this game in rare company. It was just the tenth playoff game in NHL history to reach 15 goals or more, and only the second such game since 1994. For context, the highest-scoring NHL playoff game ever had 18 goals, back in 1982 when the Los Angeles Kings beat the Edmonton Oilers 10-8.
Scott Wedgewood started in goal for Colorado and made 30 saves. Jesper Wallstedt stopped 34 shots for Minnesota. On the night that scoreline was put together, neither goaltender had a particularly bad game by any reasonable measure. The pace was simply relentless.
Series Context
Colorado came into this series having swept the Los Angeles Kings 4-0 in the first round. Minnesota knocked out the Dallas Stars 4-2 in a tighter series. The Avalanche are the heavier favourites, but a 9-6 playoff game does not tell you much about underlying quality. Goaltending will need to tighten up on both sides if either team wants to go deep.
For Colorado, the bigger picture concern was the Makar hit. He finished the game, and finished it well. Until official injury news says otherwise, you have to assume he is fine.
Game 2
Game 2 is at Ball Arena on Tuesday 5 May, 6pm local time.
If the first game is any indication, keep the back-up goalies warm.
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