{"id":368814,"date":"2025-11-10T08:38:13","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T08:38:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/368814\/"},"modified":"2025-11-10T08:38:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T08:38:13","slug":"the-aftermath-gavin-brindley-has-arrived-for-the-avalanche","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/368814\/","title":{"rendered":"The Aftermath: Gavin Brindley Has Arrived For the Avalanche"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gavin Brindley won the game for the Avalanche in overtime. The 21-year-old, who saw his first shift in extra time, scored his second goal in two games after playing almost half the night on the top line with Nathan MacKinnon and Artturi Lehkonen.<\/p>\n

Acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets last June, the rookie had one assist in his first 10 games, but is up to two goals and two assists in his last four. That includes playing just four minutes against Vegas before leaving the game with a concussion.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s safe to say Brindley has arrived. And it resulted in Colorado\u2019s first OT win in six tries.<\/p>\n

Colorado defeated the Vancouver Canucks 5-4 on Sunday, led by a two-goal, five-point performance from MacKinnon and two goals from Lehkonen before Brindley\u2019s big moment.<\/p>\n

Before the second period concluded, head coach Jared Bednar experimented with his first true line-blending game. And make no mistake about it, he did it to wake his sleepy team. The Avalanche have been a dominant five-on-five team all year. They\u2019ve outplayed the opposition almost every night.<\/p>\n

But not in this game. Vancouver looked better, and these were the lines we saw because of it.<\/p>\n

Lehkonen \u2014 MacKinnon \u2014 Brindley
Nichushkin \u2014 Drury \u2014 Necas
Colton \u2014 Nelson \u2014 Olofsson
Landeskog \u2014 Bardakov \u2014 Kelly<\/p>\n

Bednar also tried other combinations along the way. We saw Olofsson and Necas together at one point. Landeskog also got a look with MacKinnon. He was looking for anything to spark the team, and it worked.<\/p>\n

\u201cA couple days of rest after the concussion wasn\u2019t too bad of a thing,\u201d Brindley said. \u201cAs long as I can keep up the energy and let these guys do their thing. \u2026 The least that we can do in the bottom six is work our butts off.\u201d<\/p>\n

MacKinnon scored twice in the first period and had the helper on both Lehkonen goals in the third before assisting on Brindley\u2019s tally. The Avalanche, who gave up a shorthanded goal to Drew O\u2019Connor, got two power-play goals in this contest, going 2-for-3 on the night.<\/p>\n

They also gave up a late PP goal after a poorly timed penalty from Landeskog. That goal earned the Canucks a point in the standings, but it wasn\u2019t enough to defeat the Avs.<\/p>\n

In goal, Mackenzie Blackwood got his second start and first win of the season. Both games he\u2019s played have ended in OT. Blackwood made 29 saves.<\/p>\n

What Worked
\nBrindley Had His Legs<\/p>\n

For a lot of the night, it looked like most Avalanche skaters didn\u2019t have their legs.<\/p>\n

Brindley did.<\/p>\n

He earned the ice time he got with MacKinnon. He was the one who drew the penalty that led to the third-period go-ahead goal by hustling to the net. He gave Bednar every reason to play him in OT, and it paid off.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had a terrific night for us and helped get us the win,\u201d Bednar said. \u201cI thought he was our best player tonight, or one of them for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not only do I find it hard to believe that Brindley is going to sit when Logan O\u2019Connor returns, but I\u2019m also starting to think he might be playing on the Brock Nelson and Valeri Nichushkin line soon. He could be the spark plug for an underwhelming offensive season from the second line at five-on-five.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll say it again: Brindley has arrived.<\/p>\n

What Didn\u2019t
\nThe Avs Were Outplayed<\/p>\n

From poor penalties to brutal turnovers and more, this was the worst Avs showing of the season.<\/p>\n

And it says a lot that they still managed to come out with five goals and two points. However, it\u2019s still worth noting that it wasn\u2019t their best hockey by any means.<\/p>\n

Nelson played just 14:31, getting only 1:24 of PK time compared to Jack Drury\u2019s 5:28. He, in particular, had a quiet night in all aspects.<\/p>\n

Despite putting up two assists in the first, Nichushkin struggled. He gave up the puck that led to the shorthanded goal and made more errors than we\u2019ve seen from him on most nights.<\/p>\n


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