Chemistry Off as Trio Returns to Lineup

Val and Drouin seemed off game in return to Avs.

Short and sweet. That’s what this will be. And that’s what last night’s game will be in the landscape of the Avalanche’s 2024-25 season.

There are games where the Avs play great. There are games where the Avalanche play poorly. And then there are games like last night, where the Avs play. They just play.

It seemed like this was going to be a burn burner as both Colorado and Washington each scored on their first shots on goal. Parker Kelly got his first of the season exactly two minutes into the game before the Capitals Jakub Vranna and Connor McMichael each found the back of the net on their team’s next two shots on goal in the following six minutes. Two more goals from Washington role players (not Alex Ovechkin), one more from Colorado fourth liner Nikolai Kovalenko in the second and an empty netter in the third was all she wrote. 

This was supposed to be a game in which the Avalanche’s forward core was the story. The return of Jonathan Drouin and Miles Wood from injuries and Val Nichushkin from the NHL Players Assistance Program as well as the continued all-time goals record chase by Alex Ovechkin were the top storylines coming into the game.