The Colorado Avalanche and the Minnesota Wild played the best game of hockey this season so far. Two winning streaks were on the line on Friday, so one had to end. Two of the best goalies in the league were facing off against each other, and it led to some great battles in front of the net. But the Avalanche would fall 3–2 in the shootout, and their ten-game winning streak would end. It was not without some lessons learned, and the Avalanche will be a better team for it.

View from the Mountaintop

Minnesota forward Kirill Kaprizov snapped the longest shutout streak in franchise history for the Avalanche. The streak, which lasted 221:42, surpassed a record set 24 years ago in 2001. It took both goaltenders to achieve the feat for the Avalanche. Scott Wedgewood had one full game and part of the game against Minnesota, while Mackenzie Blackwood had two shutouts. To age yourself, the goaltenders during the shutout run in 2001 were Patrick Roy and David Aebischer. Wedgewood bumped his save percentage up to .920 while Blackwood bumped his up .928 during the shutout streak.

Gabriel Landeskog showed the entire team what his leadership is all about. In the last period, a stick hit Landeskog in the mouth, causing him to fall near the goal. The Captain regained his footing, stood next to the net, finishing a shot from Nathan MacKinnon. The goal, which was Landeskog’s third of the year, showed the entire team never to give up on their shifts. It especially shows the younger players like Ivan Ivan and Zakhar Bardakov what the expectation needs to be on the team.

The Avalanche have lost only one game in regulation through 24 games played. Colorado still holds a six-point lead in the Central Division despite the shootout loss and remains the best team in the NHL.

Up Next

The Avalanche will come back home to take on the Montreal Canadiens at 1 p.m. MT on Saturday afternoon. Altitude Sports will broadcast the game.