AVALANCHE

Avalanche of early goals helps Colorado cap an energetic opening night

Oct 12, 2022, 10:32 PM

It was like they didn’t miss a beat.

The defending Stanley Cup champion Avalanche looked good against the Blackhawks to open the 2022-23 season on Wednesday night at Ball Arena, prevailing by a final score of 5-2. They outshot Chicago 35-17.

The Avs scored two goals in the first period and two more in the second before adding one more in the third. Artturi Lehkonen and Valeri Nichushkin led the way, each scoring a pair of Power Play goals, and the Avalanche earned an easy two points to start a new campaign. Andrew Cogliano also got in on the fun, finding the back of the net to start the scoring.

Kicking off the evening was incredible pregame ceremony, as the Avalanche welcomed Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus for an “All The Small Things” sing-along and video, followed by an amazing moment raising the championship banner. The crowd was juiced from the start, and the Avs gave them plenty to cheer about. Here are some of the highlights.

Now, the real fun begins. We get to watch this team another 81 times (Altitude / Comcast debacle aside), and they look poised to make another Cup run.

Buckle up, because hockey is back. And once again, the Avalanche appear to be really good. You can’t win ’em all unless you win the first one.

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