WASHINGTON – Two games ago, the Colorado Avalanche welcomed back three forwards against the Washington Capitals, but their performance fell short of expectations. Fast forward six days to Thursday night, where the Avs faced one of the top teams in the NHL again, this time with their starting goalie back in action. The Avalanche showcased the kind of team they aspire to be this season, with Miles Wood scoring early in the third period and Alexandar Georgiev making 31 saves to secure a 2-1 victory at Capital One Arena.
The Avalanche took charge in the second period, gaining momentum as Wood netted his second goal of the season at 3:29 in the third with a deflection off a wrist shot by Cale Makar from the left point. Although Colorado’s power play struggled during its first opportunity, they benefited from a fortunate bounce on their second, when Mikko Rantanen’s attempt to pass through the Washington defense deflected off Matt Roy’s skate and caught the goaltender off guard at 14:19 of the second period, marking Rantanen’s team-leading 13th goal of the season. Jonathan Drouin, who returned to the top power-play unit for the first time since his injury in the season opener, recorded his second assist. Drouin and Wood were part of the trio of forwards, including Valeri Nichushkin, who returned in last Friday’s 5-2 loss to the Capitals.
Colorado dominated much of the second period, and while they could have taken the lead, Capitals goaltender Thompson made remarkable saves against Makar and Artturi Lehkonen, keeping the score tied at 1-1. In their previous matchup with the Capitals, it was the first time all of Colorado’s top-six forwards played together since last regular season, but they managed just six shots on goal. By the second intermission on Thursday, those six forwards had nearly doubled that total with 11 shots, including the Rantanen goal.
The Avalanche started the first period stronger than they had in recent games, but they only recorded two shots on goal in the final 12 minutes, allowing Washington to take the lead with 2:56 remaining. Both teams experienced periods of overpassing, but the Capitals capitalized when Tom Wilson set up Pierre-Luc Dubois for a straightforward goal near the left post.
OVECHKIN OUT
The Capitals played without their captain, Alex Ovechkin, who suffered a broken leg in their last game and is expected to be sidelined for 4-6 weeks. Ovechkin currently leads the NHL with 15 goals and had five goals in the two games before his injury. He also boasts 868 career goals, trailing Wayne Gretzky by just 26 for the all-time lead.
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