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Toews, Makar and Schwartz Lead Avalanche's Seven-Goal Barrage Against Flames
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- Toews, Makar and Schwartz Lead Avalanche's Seven-Goal Barrage Against Flames
The Colorado Avalanche stumbled out of the gate Thursday night, but once their offense came alive, the Calgary Flames had no answer.
Coming off a frustrating 3-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre on Wednesday, Colorado bounced back in emphatic fashion with a 7-3 victory over Calgary, fueled by three unanswered second-period goals that turned a tightly contested game into a rout and sent the Flames to an 0-4 start to the season.
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Devon Toews, Cale Makar and Jaden Schwartz each scored twice, while Nathan MacKinnon delivered a three-point performance and Brett Kulak chipped in with two assists. Scott Wedgewood turned aside 26 shots to secure the victory, overcoming an uneven defensive effort in front of him.
The Avalanche have scored 23 goals through their first four games of the season, the most by any NHL team over that span since the 1993-94 Los Angeles Kings, who were captained by Wayne Gretzky.
Cale Makar following Colorado's most recent home victory.
Adam Klapka, Mikael Backlund and Kevin Bahl provided the offense for Calgary. Flames netminder Devin Cooley looked sharp early but eventually wilted under Colorado's relentless offensive pressure, surrendering seven goals on 30 shots.
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First Period
Colorado got off to a shaky start after a defensive-zone turnover led to a dangerous rush chance for Calgary, but Wedgewood was up to the task, denying Backlund on back-to-back opportunities.
The Flames handed the Avalanche their first power play at 6:23 after being caught with too many men on the ice. Aydar Suniev, appearing in just his eighth career NHL game, served the bench minor.
However, Colorado's power play got off to a rocky start when another costly turnover sent Joel Farabee in alone on a shorthanded breakaway. Wedgewood came up big once again, flashing the glove to rob Farabee and keep Calgary off the board.
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At the midway point of the period, the Avalanche looked flat. Calgary held a 5-2 edge in shots, and Colorado struggled to establish any sustained offensive pressure. It's hard to build momentum when you're constantly coughing up the puck in your own zone.
Despite those early struggles, the Avalanche broke through with 5:06 remaining in the period. Makar found Toews all alone in the soft ice of the low slot, where he redirected the puck past Cooley, who had left the left side of the net wide open.
It was Toews' first goal of the season, coming just four games into the campaign. By comparison, he didn't find the back of the net until Colorado's 25th game last season.
Calgary didn't take long to respond.
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With 2:30 remaining, Klapka pulled off a slick toe drag around Josh Manson before unleashing a blistering wrist shot that rang off the left post and into the net, tying the game at 1-1.
Toews was sent to the penalty box with less than a minute remaining after tripping Yegor Sharangovich, giving Calgary a power play that carried into the second period.
Both teams headed to the dressing room deadlocked at one after an opening period in which Wedgewood's timely saves helped the Avalanche overcome an otherwise sloppy start.
Second Period
After a sluggish opening 20 minutes, the Avalanche flipped the script in the second period, finding their offensive rhythm and wasting little time taking control of the game.
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After needing 25 games to score his first goal last season, Toews already has two in just four games this time around. He netted his second of the night after taking a pass from Noah Juulsen and firing a shot from just inside the blue line that sailed through a screen set by Zach L'Heureux and past Cooley, giving Colorado a 2-1 lead.
Less than three minutes later, MacKinnon sprung a streaking Makar, who blew past the Calgary defense with a burst of speed as he crossed the blue line. Closing in on Cooley, Makar unleashed a blistering wrist shot that beat the Flames netminder to double Colorado's lead.
The onslaught continued just over two minutes later when MacKinnon hammered home a one-timer off a slick feed from L'Heureux, extending Colorado's lead to 4-1. It was MacKinnon's third goal in four games, while L'Heureux picked up his second point of the night.
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What had been a frustrating opening period quickly turned into a showcase of Colorado's offensive firepower, with the Avalanche capitalizing on their opportunities and putting Calgary firmly on its heels.
With 6:14 remaining in the second period, L'Heureux, playing in his second straight game after missing the first two contests of the season with a lower-body injury, dropped the gloves with Flames forward Matt Coronato. L'Heureux landed a flurry of right hands before both players tumbled to the ice.
Parker Kelly was penalized for interference with 22 seconds remaining in the frame, giving the Flames a power play that carried into the third.
Colorado entered the final period with a commanding 4-1 lead, just 20 minutes away from bouncing back from Wednesday's disappointing loss in Winnipeg.
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Third Period
Calgary's power play was cut short just 17 seconds into the third when Zayne Parekh was called for tripping Brock Nelson at the blue line. The penalty set up a stretch of 4-on-4 play before Colorado received a brief 38-second power play. However, the Avalanche couldn't capitalize, and their three-goal lead remained intact.
Makar has made a habit of unleashing highlight-reel slap shots this season, and 5:35 into the third period was no exception. After Nazem Kadri's pass deflected off MacKinnon's stick, Makar pounced on the loose puck and hammered it home to extend Colorado's lead to 5-1.
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Less than a minute later, Schwartz scored for the second straight game to make it 6-1. After attempting to redirect a point shot from Kulak, T.J. Hughes reacted quickly to the loose puck and slipped a pass to Schwartz in the slot, where he blasted it past Cooley.
Calgary answered shortly afterward when Backlund redirected a shot past Wedgewood off the rush, cutting Colorado's lead to 6-2.
The Flames continued to chip away at the deficit just 1:11 later when Sharangovich threaded a cross-ice pass to Bahl, who ripped a shot past Wedgewood and into the top corner to make it 6-3.
But any hopes of a Calgary comeback were quickly extinguished.
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Just 1:13 later, Schwartz struck again, taking a backhand feed from Fedor Svechkov and firing a sharp-angle shot from along the boards that somehow found its way into the net. It was the offseason acquisition's second goal of the night and third in the last 24 hours, having also scored in Wednesday's loss to Winnipeg.
The goal restored Colorado's four-goal cushion and put the finishing touches on a dominant offensive performance.
And that was all she wrote.
After a rocky opening period, the Avalanche found another gear, scoring six goals over the final 40 minutes to secure a convincing 7-3 road victory and put Wednesday's loss firmly in the rearview mirror.
Colorado returns to action on October 10 against Gavin McKenna and the Toronto Maple Leafs at Ball Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 5 p.m. local time.
