The Detroit Red Wings scored early and did enough to beat the Colorado Avalanche 2–0 in their return to Ball Arena on Monday night. After the Avs shutout the Red Wings in Detroit on Saturday, they returned the favor in Denver.

John Gibson gets the 22–save shutout, the first shutout for Detroit over Colorado in over a decade. The teams split the season series with their respective shutout wins.

View From the Mountaintop

Colorado’s first two periods weren’t pretty. Marco Kasper scored an early goal just 33 seconds into the game on a 2-on-1. Devon Toews, who was returning after an injury, had moved up and found himself in a difficult position. The offense was nowhere to be found either. Particularly, the second period was a huge struggle for the home side. They managed only four shots on net in those 20 minutes. There were looks from Cale Makar and Artturi Lehkonen, both of whom found the iron twice in a minute. Nonetheless, they were absent for most of the evening back at Ball Arena.


Speaking of absence, it described the power play once again. Coming into this game, the Avs had fallen to 31st in the league on the man advantage. An 0–for–2 performance didn’t see many good chances at all or help them climb up the stat page. Perhaps the most inexplicable play was Valeri Nichushkin trying to pass back across the crease to Nathan MacKinnon when John Gibson was down and out with a gaping net. Once again, the glaring issues came to life on the power play.

If any lines and players stood out, it was Parker Kelly and the third line. Taylor Makar was also noticeable on the forecheck at times. Kelly had a lot of solid looks, but didn’t find the twine. Ultimately, it hurt the Avs at what is becoming an uncomfortable time. The Minnesota Wild beat the Montreal Canadiens, and the Dallas Stars beat the Winnipeg Jets earlier Monday night, both games concluding in OT. Suddenly, Colorado holds only a five-point lead in the Central Division. Despite having four games in hand, it’s certainly not as comfortable a lead as it was early in the season.

Up Next

One final game before the Olympic Break awaits the Avalanche, as they host the San Jose Sharks. Puck drop on Wednesday night is at 7:00 p.m. MT.