Coming into the Avalanche’s Thursday night game, on the road vs. the Columbus Blue Jackets, superstar defenseman Cale Makar was lookingn to notch a milestone for himself that hadn’t been done before by another defenseman in over 15 years. Makar prior to the matchup was sitting on 29 goals for the season, one away from 30 which would be considered an incredible goal scoring year for any forward, but would be seen as a remarkable feat to accomplish for a d-man. No other defensman has hit the 30-goal mark since Mike Green did for the Washington Capitals back in the 08-09 season, when he scored 31 goals.  Apart from Cale Chasing an over 15 year record, the Avalanche were in the position to clinch a spot in the playoffs with a win and two points against Columbus. Alot of stakes were on the line in this one and Colorado needed to battle hard heading into this second half of a back-to-back in order to punch their ticket to the postseason.

The game got underway in Columbus and the Avs surprisingly or not came out firing and Nathan Mackinnon put Colorado on the board just over three minutes into the game. Just about three minutes later however, Blue Jacket’s Sean Monahan evened the scoring at 1-1 after beating Mackenzie Blackwood off a rebound chance. The period’s scoring ended when Colorado retook the lead thanks to Brock Nelson getting his own rebound chance and beating Elvis Merzlikins to make it 2-1 for the Avs.

The second period started off much differently from the first, as Zach Aston-Reese and Boone Jenner scored back-to-back for the Jackets, taking the lead 3-2 and Colorado seemed quite flat footed coming out of intermission. This slow start to the second frame would not last however, as Colorado rifled off three straight goals in the period, from Charlie Coyle, Parker Kelly, and Cale Makar notching his 30th of the season and achieving his historic milestone.

Cale Makar is built different. #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/rNO2l7Xon5

— x – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) April 4, 2025

On top of reaching 30 goals in a season, Makar also notched his 90th point of the season, joining a list of exclusive company of defensemen who have recorded consecutive 90+ point seasons including Dennis Potvin, Paul Coffey, and Bobby Orr.

The third period saw the same level of dominance from the Avs as the first, with Devon Towes rocketing a slap shot into the back of the net, and Miles Wood following up with a goal of his own a few minutes later. The Avalanche scored five unanswered goals to topple the Blue Jackets 7-3, looking incredible despite going into extra time and having to battle back from behind to win against Chicago just the night before. Regardless, the job was completed and the Avalanche secured the third spot in the Central Division, and will patiently wait and prepare to take on either the Dallas Stars or the Winnepeg Jets in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Built for this. #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/54zZ1dAMZJ

— x – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) April 4, 2025

Winner: Colorado Avalanche (47-26-4)

Loser: Columbus Blue Jackets (34-31-9)

STARS OF THE GAME:

C. Makar: 1G, 2A

N. Mackinnon 1G, 2A

C. Coyle: 1G, 2A

GOALIES:

Win – M. Blackwood: 27 SV, 3GA, .900SV% (28-18-6)

Loss – E. Merzlikins 21SV, 7GA, .750SV% (25-20-5)