Thoughts and Highlights

• Mantha’s goal came less than six minutes into the game. Mantha displayed some impressive skill from a tight space.

• Dylan Larkin picked up the primary assist on the goal, extending his team lead to 31. Larkin has been fantastic as of late, showcasing his leadership through tough times. It shouldn’t be long until he is finally bestowed the captaincy.
• The line of Larkin, Mantha and Tyler Bertuzzi was Detroit’s best line overall. No surprise there, seeing as they’re the club’s top-3 players in talent level. The three combined for nine shots on goal — six coming from Mantha — which was half of the total team shots (18). The chemistry of this trio is far from faded.
• Towards the middle of the second frame, Robby Fabbri laid a big open ice hit on Avs captain Gabriel Landeskog. Unfortunately, Landeskog still connected on the stretch pass to set up the eventual game winning goal.

• Jonathan Bernier played a solid, albeit unspectacular game. He allowed two goals on 27 shots for a .926 save percentage. He’d like to have the first goal back, which squeaked through his body for a tap in goal from the crease. The second goal, however, came on a breakaway.
• According to Natural Stat Trick, the Avs were the better team for the majority of the night in terms of expected goals. Overall, Colorado won that battle with a 62 percent xGF%.

Gif of the Game

Motor City MVP

Dylan Larkin