Necas Leads the Charge as Avalanche Blank the Red Wings 4-0
Colorado won 4-0 at home, but this was a much tighter game than the scoreboard admits. The Avalanche had the better of the chances, just not by much. The difference was that Colorado finished and Detroit didn't.
The shot clock was nearly even at 29-27. By expected goals, which measure how much each team's chances were worth, Colorado sat at 2.86 and Detroit at 2.31. That is a slight edge, not a four-goal gap.
Special teams opened the gap. Colorado scored 3 power-play goals on 5 chances. Detroit went 0 for 3.
Martin Necas was in the middle of it with two goals and two assists, on a line with Nathan MacKinnon and Artturi Lehkonen. MacKinnon and Cale Makar each added a goal and two assists.
At the other end, Mackenzie Blackwood stopped all 27 shots he faced. Daniil Tarasov made 25 saves on 29 shots for Detroit.
The bounces didn't help the visitors either. Sheldon Dries rang a post, and Lucas Raymond put 2 shots on goal from good looks without scoring. Colorado also hit iron twice, through Parker Kelly and Brent Burns, so the Avalanche lead could have been even bigger.
For Detroit, which entered the night 7-7-3 and 13th in the East, it was another close game that got away.
