Avalanche Finishers Punish the Posts in Calgary
This felt like a toss-up at even strength, but Colorado finished and Calgary didn’t, and the score split wide open at 7-3. Shots were basically even (30 to 29), yet the hidden swing came off the metal: three pings — from Mikael Backlund, Nathan MacKinnon, and Zayne Parekh — piled up to 1.62 iron xG (how much those near-misses are worth), chances that never crossed the line.
Layer on the crease gap. Devin Cooley stopped 23 of 30 with a -4.28 goals saved above expected, turning a tight chance ledger into a bad night. Scott Wedgewood was steadier at 26 of 29 and -0.42, enough cover for the Avalanche skaters to make their looks count.
That finishing edge started at the top: Cale Makar and MacKinnon each put up three points, Devon Toews and Jaden Schwartz added pairs, and Brett Kulak chipped in two assists. For Calgary, Backlund was the clear bright spot with eight shots and a post, but the Flames again found no forgiveness at the posts or in net.
