OTTAWA, ON — The Ottawa Senators were “Brocked” tonight.

All jokes aside, Brock Nelson led the way for the Colorado Avalanche with two goals in a big 5-1 win. Just 24 hours after playing at the Scotiabank Arena, the Avs responded brilliantly.

Goals were aplenty and legs looked favoringly fresh for Colorado. It showed on the scoresheet with points up and down the lineup in a good two-point victory.

First Period

Intensity was high with Ottawa on the front foot. It frustrated some players in burgundy and blue, with both Keaton Middleton and Parker Kelly getting into some shoving matches after the whistle.

At one point, the home team led in the shot department 6-1. But off the back of some great goaltending by Scott Wedgewood, the Avalanche ramped it up.

There were some goalmouth scrambles they couldn’t get home similar to last night against the Leafs and Justin Woll. But all it took this evening was a Nathan MacKinnon shot on the ice to give the Avs the lead.

Just 59 seconds later, Nelson would finally convert. His first goal as a member of the Avalanche came on a nice wrister from the near circle.

Cale Makar would make Ottawa pay even more just a few minutes later. He drew a tripping penalty, and on the ensuing power play, he would score a beauty to make it 3-0.

Colorado kept piling on, thanks to another depth goal from Joel Kiviranta. He found the puck in front and was able to turn it around and behind Linus Ullmark. It would be the end of his night after facing just 13 shots, and Anton Forsberg entering in relief.

The Senators almost got one back on a deflected shot from the point. It fooled Wedgewood but luckily found the iron.

Frustration boiled over towards the end of the period from Dylan Cozens. He threw a late hit on Jack Drury, was called for interference, and drew a crowd. Hence, the Avs had almost a full two minutes going into the middle frame to make the Sens pay more.

Second Period

Colorado continued to roar and made their power play from the first worthwhile. Artturi Lehkonen’s shot as the man advantage was expiring was deflected in by Nelson for his second.

MacKinnon had a quick scare when he took a puck to the face but was okay. The same can be said for Jonathan Drouin and Makar who both got sticks to the face. The latter of the two drew a penalty for it, but nothing came from it.

Meanwhile, Ottawa started showing more signs of frustration. Artem Zub beat Wedgewood but not the post, the second hit post of the evening for the Sens. David Perron got into a shoving match with Sam Malinski which sent them both to the box. But, it didn’t change the comfortable 5-0 lead the Avs had going into the third.

Third Period

Ottawa would kill off an early tripping penalty by Perron, but couldn’t swing momentum its way. In fact, they gave up a 2-on-1 to Logan O’Connor and Kelly which was unlucky to go in.

They also couldn’t do anything with their first and only power play of the game when Drury was off for high-sticking. Wedgewood made some great saves, had some blocks by Malinski in front of him, and stonewalled Drake Batherson with his glove on a 3-on-1.

Middleton was called for interference, and former Buffalo Sabres forward Dylan Cozens would get the Sens on the board. It was a nice wrister at the 15:59 mark to finally beat Wedgewood.

It added to what have been high-scoring affairs for these two teams in their last eight matchups. For the seventh time in those eight games, it would be the Avs comfortably pulling out the win.

Observations From the Mountaintop

After only scoring one goal last night against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Avs really made up for it in this one. Not only that, but they got help up and down the lineup. Nelson finally broke through and showed why Colorado gave so much up for him. Kiviranta continued his career year with his 16th goal of the season. On the blue line, Malinski now has four points in the last five games. Plus, the comfortable win allowed the Avalanche to spread some love when it came to ice time. They didn’t look like a team who played last night and their great record in the second half of back-to-backs continued by doubling the Sens in shots in this one.

Perhaps the only downside to this game came before the puck dropped. Samuel Girard would be unavailable due to a lower-body injury. Hence, Middleton slotted in and played his part. However, should Girard’s injury be long-term alongside Josh Manson, defensive depth may become a pertinent issue. Erik Johnson looks back at home on the blue line and has looked relatively good as well. But a combination of him and Middleton in a playoff run might make things a little more challenging.

Speaking of a playoff run, the standings check for the Avs continues to be a positive one. The win propels them up to 87 points, two points behind the Dallas Stars. Dallas is playing the Tampa Bay Lightning as of the publishing of this article. The win was a big one as the hunting Minnesota Wild claimed a big 4-0 win over the Seattle Kraken last night. Two points still separate the three teams each coming down to the wire.

Next Game

The road trip for Colorado comes to a close against the Montreal Canadiens. Puck drop is at 5:00 p.m. MT on Saturday night.