Nothing against the Columbus Blue Jackets, but when the Colorado Avalanche get going, they’re on a different level than most NHL teams. That was evident in Colorado’s 4-1 victory over the Blue Jackets on Thursday.

Here are five takeaways from Colorado’s dominant performance:

1. The Avalanche brought in Brent Burns to eat some heavy minutes behind Cale Makar and Devon Toews, but on Thursday night he was probably their best defenseman. The 40-year-old played a little over 20 minutes and made an impact every time he was on the ice, including some fantastic work on the penalty kill. A nice takeaway by Burns from Norris nominee Zach Werenski in the second period created a great scoring chance for Ross Colton. Just a few minutes later, Burns shot the puck directly at Brock Nelson’s stick for a deflection goal, which ultimately turned out to be the game-winner. The veteran looks like a fine pickup at the moment.
2. Gabriel Landeskog picked up an assist on the empty net goal, giving him his first regular-season point since March 8, 2022.
3. Valeri Nichushkin has probably been the best player on the second line for the Avalanche. He was rewarded Thursday, although it wasn’t a perfect game from the Russian. His turnover led to Columbus’ only goal in the second period, but he made up for it later, deflecting a Sam Malinski shot home with just a few seconds in the third to give the Avalanche an important two-goal lead heading into the third. Nichushkin added an empty netter for good measure. When he gets going, he’s impossible for opposing teams to slow down.
4. Colorado’s third defensive pairing had itself a heck of a game. Malinski’s move around a forechecker in the neutral zone is what created Colorado’s first goal of the game, and he later added an assist. Ilya Solovyov had his best night in an Avalanche uniform, and the team controlled 86% of the shot attempts with him on the ice at even strength.
5. Thursday’s game was the 400th of Cale Makar’s young career and he put the cherry on top with a vintage Makar goal, using Artturi Lehkonen as a screen and firing the puck over Elvis Merzlikins shoulder in the second. Makar is already up to seven points in five games, so another Norris Trophy could be in his future.