NHL

Colorado Avalanche at Utah Hockey Club

· National Hockey League
Final
5 - 1

Justus Annunen leads Avalanche to fourth straight win with 5-1 rout of Utah

Lawson Crouse scores goal vs. Avalanche

Ross Colton opened the scoring with his seventh goal of the season. Cale Makar also scored in the first. Casey Mittelstadt and Ivan Ivan struck both scored in the second period — Ivan's goal on a power play. Joel Kiviranta had an unassisted goal late to cap the scoring.

Colton struck midway through the first period, snapping the puck past Vejmelka on a power play. Makar then blasted home a second long-distance snap shot, extending Colorado’s lead.

Mittelstadt sent in a close-range wrist shot for a three-goal advantage. Ivan’s power-play goal put Colorado up 4-0 heading into the third.

Mittelstadt, Nikolai Kovalenko and Mikko Rantanen each had a pair of assists for the Avalanche.

Karel Vejmelka made 21 saves in his second start for Utah, who has allowed nine goals over two games. Lawson Crouse had Utah’s lone goal with 4:32 left in the game.

Takeaways Avalanche: Stifling defense and potent offense helped Colorado turn in a complete game on both ends of the ice.

Utah: Another sluggish start put Utah in an early hole, and it never climbed out. Utah has not scored a first-period goal in three straight games but has surrendered six over that stretch.

Key moment Mittelstadt and Ivan were barely challenged while scoring three minutes apart in the second. Their goals squashed any comeback hopes Utah harbored.

Key stat Makar leads the NHL with 15 points and 12 assists and has tallied at least one goal or assist in each of Colorado’s first eight games.

Up next Colorado begins a three-game homestand against Ottawa on Sunday while Utah visits the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.

Regular Season Series

COL leads series 1-0

Scoring Summary

Goal 1st Period 9:54 Ross Colton Goal (7) Snap Shot, assists: Mikko Rantanen (8), Casey Mittelstadt (3)
Goal 1st Period 18:20 Cale Makar Goal (3) Snap Shot, assists: Mikko Rantanen (9), Nikolai Kovalenko (2)
Goal 2nd Period 14:25 Casey Mittelstadt Goal (5) Wrist Shot, assists: Sam Malinski (2), Nikolai Kovalenko (3)
Goal 2nd Period 17:33 Ivan Ivan Goal (1) Snap Shot, assists: Nathan MacKinnon (10), Casey Mittelstadt (4)
Goal 3rd Period 15:28 Lawson Crouse Goal (3) Backhand, assists: Matias Maccelli (4), Ian Cole (2)
Goal 3rd Period 16:07 Joel Kiviranta Goal (4) Snap Shot, assists: none

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/col.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originCOL https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/utah.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originUTAH
19 Blocked Shots 10
27 Hits 15
2 Takeaways 5
26 Shots 26
2 Power Play Goals 0
4 Power Play Opportunities 3
50.0 Power Play Percentage 0.0
0 Short Handed Goals 0
0 Shootout Goals 0
16 Faceoffs Won 41
28.1 Faceoff Win Percent 71.9
12 Giveaways 19
3 Total Penalties 4
6 Penalty Minutes 8

Game Information

Delta Center

Location: Salt Lake City, UT
Attendance: 11,131 | Capacity:

2024-25 Central Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Winnipeg 17 4 34 0
Minnesota 13 3 30 4
Dallas 13 6 26 0
Colorado 12 9 24 0
Utah 8 9 19 3
St. Louis 9 12 19 1
Nashville 7 11 17 3
Chicago 7 12 16 2
Full Standings