In a game that felt eerily similar at times to the previous one, the Colorado Avalanche came out strong early in Game Five and made swift work of the Arizona Coyotes, beating them 7-1 and ensuring Colorado’s place in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Both Nazem Kadri and Nathan MacKinnon continued their point streaks, each scoring two goals, while MacKinnon also contributed two assists. Kadri and MacKinnon, whose point totals after tonight are 11 and 13 respectively, currently lead the NHL playoffs in point scoring.
Samuel Girard, Nikita Zadorov, and J.T. Compher also contributed goals. The Avalanche scored three of their seven goals on the power play, capitalizing swiftly on Arizona’s mistakes, and killed the only two penalties they took in the game. Goalie Philipp Grubauer saved 23 of 24 shots on goal.
First Period
The Avalanche took advantage of Arizona’s early mistakes, with Kadri scoring a powerplay goal at 15:21 in the first period on assists from Gabriel Landeskog and MacKinnon. The goal placed Kadri second only to Joe Sakic in powerplay goals scored by an Avalanche player in a single season’s playoffs. The Avs’ powerplay passes also looked sharper than usual this period, and at one point they rearranged their regular positioning so that both MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen set themselves up behind the net, with Landeskog hovering on MacKinnon’s usual left blue circle.
It proved successful, as only four minutes later Girard scored the Avalanche’s second powerplay goal of the game on a quick slap shot from the blue line. Arizona was penalized a third time in the first period for having too many men on the ice, and although the Coyotes killed the penalty, a successive turnover resulted in a breakaway goal for Kadri with only 1:32 left in the period. The Avalanche ended the second period up 3-0 and ahead in shots on goal 12-6.
Naz on a breakaway?
Beautiful. Inspiring. Perfect. Flawless.#GoAvsGo https://t.co/4Yv7iJcOHi
— x – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) August 19, 2020
Second Period
The second period started off more slowly than the first, but the lack of action did not last long. The Avalanche demonstrated their depth in period two, with good shot attempts taken by Matt Calvert, Matt Nieto, and Compher. While Arizona’s Darcy Kuemper continued to make great saves, the Coyotes’ defense looked haphazard and the Avalanche never stopped putting pucks on net. Halfway through the second period, MacKinnon fired a one-timer into the back of the net, extending the Avalanche’s lead to 4-0. He was assisted by Rantanen, who passed the puck cleanly through four Coyote players onto MacKinnon’s tape.
This was the goal that Nate scored, right before the other one.#GoAvsGo https://t.co/dNjUrGOpWt
— x – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) August 19, 2020
Less than a minute later, the Coyotes were called for a hooking penalty, and MacKinnon scored again on a second one-timer after receiving a quick touch pass by Rantanen. MacKinnon wasn’t finished accumulating points, however, and with 1:44 left in the second, he fired a wrist shot toward the net which was tipped in by Zadorov after a good cut across the slot. The Avalanche ended the period up 6-0, having scored three goals in both periods.
Third Period
Just as in game four, the third period of game five resulted in a single Arizona goal (scored this time by Clayton Keller) to deprive Grubauer of a shutout, as well as a change in net for the Coyotes, who replaced Kuemper with Antti Raanta. The Avalanche took two penalties in the third—one on Tyson Jost for holding and the second on Andre Burakovsky for the same—but killed both of them and continued to dominate the Coyotes both defensively and offensively. The Avalanche also continued to demonstrate their depth when, with 4:41 left in the period, Compher scored on a pass from Nieto from behind the net. Game Five finished similarly to Game Four, with Colorado beating the Coyotes 7-1 and eliminating Arizona from the playoffs.
Nathan MacKinnon:
"Things have changed a lot since (my rookie year)…the message from training camp a year ago now was to just win. Our time has arrived."#Avs
— Scott MacDonald (@0ffScottFree) August 20, 2020
What’s Next
It’s on to round two for the Colorado Avalanche! Colorado’s next playoff opponent will be either the Dallas Stars or the winner of the series between the Vancouver Canucks and the St. Louis Blues. Playing against Dallas or St. Louis would see the Avalanche face off with a division rival, and playing against Vancouver would see the Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes matchup many fans have been discussing. Game time is currently TBD, but fans should be looking to the middle of next week in anticipation for game one of round two.