Makar Nets 30th Goal, Avs Pound Jackets

Cale Makar won the Norris on Thursday evening.

No Notes. Nearly Perfect.

Okay, maybe not perfect. But Thursday’s 7-3 win in Columbus was as close to perfect as the Avalanche could have asked for after Wednesday’s disaster in Chicago.

Sure, Colorado coughed up leads of 1-0 and 2-1 to briefly trail 3-2 in the second period. And yeah, Mackenzie Blackwood wasn’t exactly sharp early. But all things considered — the late-night start, the same-day travel, and a key piece of the top six missing — the Avs looked pretty close to flawless.

And when the final horn sounded, Colorado had punched its ticket to the postseason, clinching a playoff berth with its 47th win of the year and 98 points in the standings. The team is now just two points away from a fourth-straight 100-point campaign, a feat never reached in nearly 50 years of franchise play between Quebec and Denver.