First Period Harpoons Nordiques in Denver Debut against Whalers

Avs battle back to get a point after brutal start.

Let’s start at the end: We got a point again. So there has to be some level of joy associated with the final result.

The beginning? Well, that’s a joyless story of a different color.

And speaking of colors… the Avalanche and Hurricanes opted to don the hues of their former homes for a Heritage Night game honoring both Quebec and Hartford.

The Whalers honored their past far better than the home team, racing out to a 4–1 lead just 13 minutes and 40 seconds into the game. Eric Robinson’s snipe, Seth Jarvis’ shorthanded breakaway, Sebastian Aho’s shot that deflected off Devon Toews, and Logan Stankoven’s gift off a Cale Makar turnover all were uncharacteristic of this year’s Avalanche.

But bad hockey in bulk? That was the calling card of the Quebec Nordiques I grew up watching. So outside of Val Nichushkin’s goal, the first period of one of the most anticipated games of the season was a dud… at least for the home side.

Wearing the long-anticipated Nordiques blue jerseys for the first time, this version of the team came out against the new-look Whalers and played the same run-and-gun style that defined the era those uniforms came from. It looked like the Nordiques were more concerned with impressing fans with the new threads, pads, and masks than with the part where they actually had to play hockey.