Avs Pump Wings in Motown with MacKinnon Leading the Way

Colorado pummels Detroit, 5-0, in first of home-and-home

In the grand scheme of this once-great rivalry, today’s game will likely not even register as a blip on the radar.

For me, this afternoon’s contest will be remembered less for the 5-0 final score and more for the day Nathan MacKinnon did TWO television interviews. And in the second of those interviews, MacKinnon took the opportunity to call out former-longtime-teammate-turned-ESPN-rinkside-reporter Erik Johnson for a very obvious spray tan.

On its own, a 5-0 road thumping of a top-six team in the league is something to celebrate, something to hang your hat on. Doing so in the wake of two dreadful losses in Ottawa and Montreal makes it even more significant. It was a reminder of this group’s resilience, as Saturday’s performance in Motown was a complete team effort from start to finish.

That resilience matters, because the disasters in those two Canadian games can’t be ignored. January has not been Colorado’s month, that much is clear. The performances against the Senators and Canadiens were rock bottom. For 120 minutes, the Avalanche could not have played worse. Yes, they scored five goals in that span, but that only speaks to the raw talent on the roster. Had they played anywhere near their own expectations, there would have been far more.

Instead, they internalized it… and took it out on Detroit.