Avalanche score six power-play goals, bury Blues 8-0

[January 16, 2021]  Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and two assists, Gabriel Landeskog scored twice to reach 200 goals for his career, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the St. Louis Blues 8-0 on Friday night in Denver.

Nazem Kadri, Mikko Rantanen, Devon Toews and Andre Burakovsky had a goal and an assist each and Joonas Donskoi also scored. Cale Makar had three assists, Samuel Girard added two and Philipp Grubauer made 20 saves for the Avalanche to record the 12th shutout of his career.

St. Louis goalie Jordan Binnington stopped 20 of 24 shots before leaving after two periods. His replacement, Ville Husso, made 10 saves and yielded four goals in his NHL debut. Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo left the game in the first period with an upper-body injury and did not return.

Colorado converted 6 of 7 power-play opportunities while St. Louis was 0-for-4.

Both teams had good chances in the first period but couldn't score. Colorado then broke the game open in the second period.

The four-goal flurry started when Landeskog put a shot past Binnington at 4:03, and the Avalanche added a trio of goals 4:41 apart later in the second.

Burakovsky floated into the slot on a power play and used St. Louis defenseman Justin Faulk as a screen to wrist a shot past Binnington at 12:24. It was the second straight game in which Burakovsky scored a goal.

Colorado Avalanche goaltender Philipp Grubauer (31) makes a save on a shot from St. Louis Blues left wing David Perron (57) as defenseman Ryan Graves (27) defends in the first period at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Just 2:10 later, Rantanen skated behind the net and sent a backhand pass to Landeskog on the right of the net, and he again beat Binnington at 14:34. Rantanen finished the goal onslaught when he got a pass from Makar on a power play and one-timed a shot to the open net on the left side to make it 4-0.

All four of the Avalanche's third-period goals came on power plays.

Kadri scored 1:13 into the third, shooting MacKinnon's rebound past Husso to give Colorado a 5-0 lead.

The Avalanche poured it on later in the third. MacKinnon got his first goal of the season at 11:29 and Donskoi made it 7-0 just 33 seconds later with his first of the season. Toews capped the scoring at 14:56.

--Field Level Media
 

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