Patience and depth scoring was required Wednesday at Rogers Place in Edmonton.
The Avalanche, despite getting zero shots from star center Nathan MacKinnon, erupted for three late third-period goals — including two within 10 seconds — to defeat the defensive-minded Arizona Coyotes 3-0 in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series in the Western Conference bubble.
Nazem Kadri’s gritty power-play goal from the doorstep at 13:05 opened the floodgates against Coyotes goalie Darcy Kuemper, who was spectacular to that point. J.T. Compher scored from the same spot just 10 seconds later and Mikko Rantanen capped a great play with MacKinnon and Gabe Landeskog 1:13 later to clinch it for the No. 2-seeded Avs.
Arizona’s focus was to stop MacKinnon, who led the NHL with 318 shots during the regular season. It certainly succeeded, but the Avalanche’s depth ultimately overwhelmed the No. 11-seeded Coyotes.
Colorado outshot Arizona 40-14, with Kadri (seven shots) and defenseman Erik Johnson (eight) combining for more than the Coyotes’ entire team.
Colorado dominated most of the game, outshooting Arizona 38-13. Philipp Grubauer got the shutout for the Avs, who finished 1-of-2 on the power play.
Game 2 is Friday at noon.
Both teams were 0-for-1 on the power play through two periods. The Avs had the man-advantage in the first period and the Coyotes in the second.
Shots advantage wasn’t close, with 29 of the game’s 36 coming from Colorado through 40 minutes. Kadri had six shots at that point, nearly as many as the Coyotes (seven).
