Avalanche 5-1 Hockey Club (Oct. 24, 2024) Game Recap

SALT LAKE CITY – – Justus Annunen had 25 saves and the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Utah Hockey Club 5-1 on Thursday night for their fourth straight win.

Ross Colton opened the scoring with his seventh goal of the season. Cale Makar also scored in the first round. Casey Mittelstadt and Ivan Ivan both scored in the second period – Ivan's goal on a power play. Joel Kiviranta scored late without an assist to cap off the scoring.

Colton struck midway through the first period, firing the puck past Vejmelka on a power play. Makar then shot a second long-range shot, extending Colorado's lead.

Mittelstadt sent a wrist shot from close range for a three-goal lead. Ivan's power play goal gave Colorado a 4-0 lead heading into the third round.

Mittelstadt, Nikolai Kovalenko and Mikko Rantanen each had two assists for the Avalanche.

Karel Vejmelka made 21 saves in his second start for Utah and allowed nine goals in two games. Lawson Crouse scored Utah's only goal with 4:32 left in the game.

Takeaways

Avalanche: A stifling defense and strong offense helped Colorado play a complete game on both ends of the ice.

Utah: Another slow start put Utah in an early hole that it never climbed out of. Utah has not scored a single goal in the first period in three straight games, but has conceded six goals in that time.

Key moment

Mittelstadt and Ivan were hardly to be challenged and scored a goal three minutes apart in the second half. Their goals ended any of Utah's comeback hopes.

Key statistics

Makar leads the NHL with 15 points and 12 assists and has recorded at least one goal or assist in each of Colorado's first eight games.

Next

Colorado begins a three-game homestand against Ottawa on Sunday, while Utah visits the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.

——

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl