The Colorado Avalanche took on the struggling New York Rangers on Thursday. New York has almost all of its games on the road, so the Avs were in for a tough one. But that did not stop them from making history in the 6–3 victory. New York took the lead early in the game, but Colorado bounced back with a vengeance.

View from the Mountaintop

During the first period, forward Gavin Brindley was hit into the boards behind the net. It was an awkward hit that caused Brindley to go into the boards shoulder first. Right after the hit, the rookie was in some obvious pain and worked his way back to the bench. Unfortunately, that was Brindley’s fourth and last shift of the game because of a lower-body injury. Brindley has worked to earn a spot on the team for opening night when he wouldn’t have otherwise. Just a couple of days after he scored the overtime-winning goal in Vancouver, the Avalanche signed Brindley to a two-year extension. Valeri Nichushkin’s injury led to Brindley playing on the second line, and he has become an important part of the offense.

Brock Nelson is now on a four-game point streak for the year. He added a goal and an assist to the streak on Thursday with his aggressive play. This streak is Nelson’s first point streak of the season. He has three goals and three assists in the stretch. We had written just a few days before if Nelson’s style fit the team. He may fit in now. It has taken some time and several linemates, but his production has ramped up as of late.

The Avalanche have now won seven straight games and are one of four teams to lose only one game in their first twenty games. The power-play is struggling a little, but the Avalanche are scoring at even strength. On Thursday night, all but one of the six goals were at even strength. Colorado will head into the weekend with a six-point lead in the standings over the Dallas Stars.

Up Next

The Avalanche will travel to Nashville to for the first half of a back-to-back on Saturday at 6 p.m. MT. Altitude 2 will broadcast the game.