The Avalanche douse the Blackhawks

Seven Colorado goals, not one from Chicago

Two games, one candle

On qualification night, the Colorado Avalanche and the Chicago Blackhawks never shared a sheet of ice. Each played its own game. Whichever scored more would burn on, and the other would go dark before the Gauntlet had properly begun. Colorado, seventh of 32 last season, visited the New York Islanders at UBS Arena in Elmont. Chicago, 30th of 32, hosted the Boston Bruins at the United Center.

Chicago never struck a match. Jeremy Swayman stopped all 23 Blackhawks shots. Petr Mrazek made 40 saves at the other end and still lost. Pavel Zacha's deflection at 3:50 of the second beat him, then Matthew Poitras and Trent Frederic scored 0:56 apart in the third. Chicago's Gauntlet total: zero.

Wild night in Elmont

As it turned out, one goal would have been enough for Colorado. The Avalanche scored seven, and they took the long way round. Ryan Johansen opened with a power-play wrister at 5:19 of the first, and Cale Makar answered Cal Clutterbuck's tip-in with a backhand. Then New York struck twice: Kyle Palmieri on the power play, Simon Holmstrom on a wrister, and the Islanders led 3-2.

With the second period nearly gone, Bowen Byram tied it at 19:18. Nathan MacKinnon put Colorado back in front 0:13 later. Anders Lee leveled it again at 4:40 of the third. Mikko Rantanen settled it with a wrister at 7:47, then fed Johansen for an empty-netter, and Ross Colton added another 0:29 after that. Twenty-four flames still burn. Colorado's is one of them. Chicago's has gone out.