DENVER — Nights like this from Cale Makar and Mikko Rantanen shouldn’t be taken for granted. Nor should they be wasted.
Makar had a three-point second period and Rantanen made his two best passes of the season, but the Colorado Avalanche blew a 4-2 third-period lead in a 5-4 shootout loss to Los Angeles on Thursday night, only keeping one point after two seemed attainable.
Adrian Kempe’s shootout goal ended Colorado’s nine-game win streak against the Kings. Rantanen and Evan Rodrigues were unable to score in the shootout.
Sean Walker scored with 5:40 remaining in regulation to tie it, and the Avs (19-12-3) couldn’t convert a power play opportunity in the last three minutes. This was the fourth consecutive game at Ball Arena that has required overtime. The home team had managed to escape the first three.
The Avalanche’s recent pattern of slow starts continued when Gabriel Vilardi flicked a shot from the faceoff circle past Alexandar Georgiev. Colorado had a chance to erase the early gap with a man advantage late in the first period, but the best scoring chance of the power play belonged to Los Angeles. Shots were 12-7 Kings at the break.
The Avs haven’t led at first intermission since Dec. 10 vs. the New York Rangers. In nine games since then, they’ve been outscored 8-1 in the first period. Stretching back 15 games, they have been outscored 15-4 in the opening frame, only leading once at first intermission.
But their second periods in those nine games? The Avs have outscored opponents 11-5. They scored four against the Kings, each of them seemingly more highlight-worthy than the last.
Fantastic forechecking by Devon Toews kept Colorado in the offensive zone during a power play long enough for Rodrigues and Rantanen to play tic-tac-toe with the puck, navigating it to J.T. Compher for the easiest finish of his life. After Los Angeles reclaimed the lead, Andrew Cogliano raised eyebrows with a confident finish on the rush.
Then 45 seconds later, Makar intercepted a Los Angeles pass, carried into the zone and deposited his own wrister to give Colorado its first lead. After one goal in the last 14 games before the holiday break, Makar has scored in back-to-back games.
So has Rodrigues. After Makar skated through the Kings’ defense, Rodrigues finished Rantanen’s quick-reflex touch pass across the crease. It was the Avalanche’s 100th goal of the season.
Rantanen had scored or assisted 45 of them, making him easily the hero of the injury-plagued season so far.
But Makar has quietly kept a point-per-game pace behind him. After this, he has 34 points in as many games.
