Six goals hit the back of the net for the Colorado Avalanche against the St. Louis Blues last night, with a 6-1 final score, and let’s just say St. Louis netminder Jordan Binnington had a rough, rough go of it, particularly with Martin Necas cashing in on some absolute gifts. This was only the second game of the season for the Avs, but for the Blues, it was the second leg of a back-to-back, and it showed big time.
Avs Offense Puts on a Show Early
The Avalanche wasted no time getting on the board. About five minutes in, Cale Makar lit the lamp thanks to some absolutely gorgeous passing. Nathan MacKinnon broke the puck into the offensive zone, and Martin Necas flew down in front of the net, completely unchecked by any Blues player. Necas found Makar on the post, and boom, 1-0. Seriously, the Blues defense looked lost on that one. Then Necas, not satisfied with just an assist, snagged his first goal of the night next. Artturi Lehkonen forced a turnover along the boards, MacKinnon picked up the puck and fired a cross-ice pass to Necas, who ripped a bar-down shot past Binnington. Just like that, it was 2-0 Colorado, and you could feel the momentum building against a tired Blues squad.
Binnington’s Costly Misplays Fuel Avalanche Rout
The second period? Well, that’s where things really went sideways for the Blues, and specifically for Binnington. Josh Manson made it 3-0 by just letting a shot fly from the blue line, with TJ Hughes providing a perfect screen that Binnington just couldn’t see through. But then it got wild. Lehkonen made it 4-0 off a definite misplay from Binnington. The St. Louis goalie tried to pass the puck up the middle of the ice to clear the zone, but Lehkonen cut it down and basically put it into an empty net because Binnington couldn’t recover. Ouch. Nic Roy then got his second goal of the season after Parker Kelly found him with a phenomenal pass, and Roy caught Binnington with a quick release. And Necas? He bagged a total freebie goal before the second period wrapped up. Binnington went behind the net to play the puck *again*, misplayed it *again*, and Necas found it right in front for an easy tap-in, making it a staggering 6-0. When your star goalie is handing out goals like candy, you’re in for a long night.
Blackwood Shines as Avs Keep Rolling
Finally, about three minutes into the third period, Dalibor Dvorsky broke the shutout for the Blues, making it 6-1. It was a weird play in front of the net where Josh Manson thought he had the puck, but didn’t, and Dvorsky capitalized against Mackenzie Blackwood. Speaking of Blackwood, while Binnington was having a nightmare, Avs goalie Mackenzie Blackwood had a seriously good outing, stopping 25 of 26 shots for a ridiculous 0.962 save percentage. The Avs special teams broke even, not scoring a powerplay goal, but their penalty kill also didn’t give up a goal. This wasn’t some fluke either; Colorado continued their offensive onslaught after dropping eight goals on the Kings just a couple nights ago. It’s only game two, yeah, but this is one heck of a start for the Avalanche.
The Avalanche are heading out for the first game of a back-to-back against the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday, October 7, with puck drop at 7:30 p.m. MT. You gotta wonder if the Blues are already looking at that tape with a shudder, especially Binnington. That kind of performance, this early in the season, can stick with a team.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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