Who would have thought just a month ago that the first meeting of the year between the Colorado Avalanche and Anaheim Ducks would be considered a big game, and on national television no less? This game did not disappoint, but the Avalanche showed their dominance on home ice, winning 4-1 and remaining atop the league standings with 25 points.
Spoiler alert: Gabe Landeskog scored the game-winning goal, his first of the year!
It took the home team just 28 seconds to make their mark and score the first goal of the game. The top line started with a strong shift in the offensive zone as Artturi Lehkonen finished the game for a 1-0 lead.
Colorado held on to the initial momentum, but after the Avalanche's power play ended, Anaheim slowly began to turn the tide in their favor. It paid off for the Ducks when they were able to convert near the end of the period when Leo Karlsson continued his hot start by putting a goal in the back of the net on a 4-on-4 play. After a spirited first period, the game ended 1-1.
In the second frame, Colorado regained control and was finally rewarded with a real Gabe Landeskog goal that counted! A game that started with a shot from Sam Malinski, a rebound from Val Nichushkin and Landeskog putting away change. The period ended with a score of 2:1 in favor of Colorado.
To top it all off, Colorado finally got Martin Necas' power play goal in the third period, and with a two-goal lead, they weren't going to look back.
The Ducks decided to leave the net with over three minutes left in the contest, so the Avalanche were of course happy to receive a penalty goal as Nathan MacKinnon set up Parker Kelly in the empty net for their fourth and final goal to lead to a 4-1 victory.
It was fun while the game was competitive and both teams ended up with 36 shots each, but the Avalanche never lost this game on home ice. They set the tone with an early goal right out of the gate and controlled the game for most of the evening.
Perhaps the floodgates will open for Gabe Landeskog now that he has officially joined the board of directors. As the game winner, perhaps the hockey gods were saving his first regular season goal since 2022 for a game-changer, and that's exactly what happened tonight.
A day of rest and then return to Ball Arena at 7:00 pm ET on Thursday, November 13th to face the Buffalo Sabers in the same tournament. Fourth wing theme evening.
