Game Recap: Columbus Blue Jackets outlasts Colorado Avalanche in home opener

The Colorado Avalanche opened their season at Ball Arena with another loss, this time 6-4 to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night. It is the Avs' second loss this year and the first time since the 2014/15 season, when they started 0-2.

There's still a lot of time left in the season, but the Avalanche know they have a lot of work to do after a disappointing start on home ice. Here's how it all went down.

First period

The action started early when Zach Aston-Reese was hit high up by Chris Wagner, sparking a massive scrum with three penalties to Wagner, Josh Manson and Mathieu Olivier. Aston-Reese would not return to the game.

Nothing would come of Columbus' ensuing power play, but they would find the opener later. Zach Werenski beat Josh Manson at the top of the net for the lead.

A few moments later, Alexandar Georgiev scored another ugly goal. This time he was beaten just past the post by Kent Johnson's shot from a tight angle, doubling the visiting team's lead.

The Jackets almost scored a third thanks to Nikolai Kovalenko's turnover right on the doorstep, but this time Georgiev was up to the task. The momentum would swing towards the other end of the ice, with Nathan MacKinnon finding Cale Makar on a beautiful cross-ice pass that was robbed by Daniil Tarasov.

It would only be a matter of time before Colorado broke through. After Ross Colton was brought down without penalty, Sam Girard was tripped by Cole Sillinger, which took the penalty. MacKinnon opened his season tally with a powerful shot with just eight seconds left, cutting the lead in half. It would also be the first NHL point for Ivan Ivan, who gets the first assist.

Second period

Adam Fantilli scored his third Columbus goal on the ninth shot of the game. It beat Georgiev by five holes and it was enough for Jared Bednar to pull him for Justus Annunen.

Just a few moments after the change, there was absolute chaos. Miles Wood would dive to the side of the net to bring the game to within one goal. Then Damon Severson took a sharp shot that led to Casey Mittelstadt scoring the equalizer off a rebound, making it 3-0. But then Kirill Marchenko managed to sneak his shot over Annunen's pad, the first shot he saw, to regain the Blue Jackets' lead 4-3. All of those goals came in the first 4:33 of the frame.

Just moments later, after Columbus' fourth goal, Parker Kelly almost scored the equalizer right up front. But neither he nor the Avalanche would score the next goal as Yegor Chinakov would find room at the top for a quick finish to make it 5-3.

Colorado would finally push back a bit. MacKinnon almost showed his true skills by going through two defenders only to be narrowly missed by Tarasov's blocker.

While they couldn't muster anything on a power play, they had a chance right up front through Colton and Nikolai Kovalenko that was stopped even after a long review at the line. So the home team still had a lot to do with two setbacks before the last frame.

Third period

Tarasov had a lot to do early on as he was lying on his back with the puck in the goal crease and was lucky that it didn't end up in the net. He also beat Rantanen to the puck on a breakaway opportunity in open ice and just managed to stop him.

Columbus played a solid away period, shutting down the Stars and getting the puck out of harm's way most of the time. With time running out quickly, it was the road team's advantage to finish the race.

The Avs trailed Annunen with 2:40 left and still trailed by two minutes, looking for something special. They got a goal back from Colton with a nice passing play and had 1:20 left to score another goal.

Moments later, with the net empty, Colton was inches away from tying the score in the same spot but hit the crossbar. On the other side, Mittelstadt was called upon to make a questionable stop. That was the end of the game and an empty net goal from Sean Monahan ended the game 6-4.

Takeaways

After one game, the goalkeeper was on everyone's lips. After the second game, goalkeeper is still on everyone's lips. Tonight was a great night for Georgiev to recover and get back to what he's capable of in the goal crease, just like he did last season in the second game of the first round against the Winnipeg Jets. But again it was a disappointment as he was eliminated after conceding three goals from nine shots. Annunen conceded a goal on his first shot. He was fine for the rest of the game, but was anything but a consolation for the Avs in the goal crease. The idea of ​​the recently appointed Kaapo Kahkonen joining as a starter once he clears immigration is a realistic possibility, and that would be wild to say. We'll see if it happens and when he can provide much-needed relief in the net soon.

Of course, there is much more to an ice hockey team than just the goalkeeper. To get to the top of the net we have to beat five other guys. The team's depth and defense also don't help much and have been lacking. With the Avs already chasing games, getting help from everyone on the ice is key to getting back into games, and that's just not happening right now. Being defeated 14-8 in the first two games is not good. It is the first time since the 2014-15 season that the Avalanche started the season 0-2.

How about we focus on some good things? While the final six wasn't great, Ivan picked up his first career point with the first assist on Colorado's first goal and got a few looks on goal himself. MacKinnon opened his account and also scored an assist alongside Colton. Makar also had two assists. The possibilities and opportunities are there. It's all about putting things together to win hockey games. Now is a good time to do it, with seven games taking place every other day.

Soon

Today's game was the first of four home games for the Avs. Next up is Patrick Roy's return to Colorado with the New York Islanders on Monday night. Puck drop occurs at 7:00 p.m. MT.