The Colorado Avalanche beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 5 – 1 tonight, effectively ending a 3 game losing streak and completing a season series sweep against Columbus. In a game that started off on the wrong foot, the Avs had an enormous showing from their rookies.
Courtesy of nhl.com
In what started as a truly ugly game for the Burgundy and Blue, one which saw a penalty kill in the first minute of the game and a short handed goal scored by Antoine Vermette, the Avalanche managed to turn the tables on their misfortune, closing the gap in the Northwest Division with a Vancouver Canucks loss.
The first period started so bad, the game easily could have gone the other way. But this young, resilient team managed to slow the pace and began to work their magic. An incredible flow and total control of the pace of the game finished off the first period, which saw Kyle Quincy tie the game after his great defensive read created the play.
Quincy stole the puck in the neutral zone, forcing the Jackets to scramble back into the zone. Paul Stastny came up with the puck, feeding Quincy backdoor in the high slot. Quincy could have closed his eyes and shot he had so much room as tender Mathieu Garon was caught diving back across in desperation.
Courtesy of nhl.com
Despite a relatively back and forth second period, the Avs managed to take the lead on a quick moving play by defenseman Kyle “the other Kyle” Cumiskey, who blew into the Blue Jackets zone like a hurricane, drawing the defense to him before making a pretty feed into the slot that found Brandon Yip, who buried it, one knee on the ice.
But the third period is where the game really came together. Great pressure by T.J. Galiardi got the puck low to Brandon Yip who flipped a fluke backhander that snuck in short side. Garon clearly lost a line on the shot as he hugged the post hoping to have the puck in his pads.
Then, a moment of truth arrived. Stastny drew a double minor on a high stick after a game changing save on Rick Nash by superstar Craig Anderson. Did I mention previously that the Avalanche PK has seen 100% success in the last 4 (5 now) games? Well not only did they hold it out, but Ryan “Radar” O’Reilly managed to score not one, but count it, two shorthanded goals during the same penalty kill. The first on a feed from, remember this name: Galiardi, O’Reilly roofed it past Garon, padding the lead 4-1 for Colorado.
The second shorty came from a cross crease feed by the same T.J. Galiardi previously mentioned. The goal could be attributed to Galiardi in the end, but as it stands now, O’Reilly finished the game with two shorthanded goals. Galiardi went into the locker room with 4 assists and the number one star on the night, and Brandon Yip notched another two into his goal belt.
“It’s nice to have a win like that after three losses,” said O’Reilly in the post game coverage. “It was really nice to help out my team offensively, you know, I haven’t done that in a while.”
He’s quick to give praise where it’s due as well. “We were on our toes and … Gally made two unbelievable passes there,” O’Reilly said.
“We’re happy to be back in the winning column,” noted Galiardi. ”The standings are so tight, we want to get a little breathing room.” It is important to note that as of press time, Vancouver, Nashville, and Minnesota all lost tonight, which helps the Avs considerably.
The bounces really started to go the Avs way, with Andy doing work as well. It helped that Rick Nash missed the broad side of a barn on one shot, hitting the post instead, and he was stuffed by Andy another time to keep the tilt alive.
Once the confidence was there, the Burgundy and Blue really started to shut down the passing lanes and began to smother plays, keeping the Jackets at bay. The team really plays well with this kind of pressure and it has paid off every game it has happened. Paul Stastny had two great chances alone that he couldn’t finish, which is something he needs to work on. He is making major money and needs to be able to finish in those clutch moments.
Tensions ran high even at the end of the game, as Adam Foote dropped his gloves with Raffi Torres. Unfortunately it was short lived as they both hit the ice pretty quickly. As Mark Rycroft put it, the Avalanche had “arguably the worst start of the season” tonight, and it was nice to seem the recover fully and with purpose. This can’t continue to happen if success is in the future.
3 Stars of the Game:
#1 T.J. Galiardi – 4 assists
#2 Brandon Yip – 2 goals on 2 shots
#3 Ryan O’Reilly – 2 shorthanded goals
What did you think of the game? How about those rookies? What do you predict for the next game against Nashville?
Related posts:
- Avs vs. Jackets Game Notes
- Avs Send Blue Jackets Packing
- Avs v. Ducks Pregame
- Ducks Steal Life From Avs
- Avs Finish Year On Sour Note
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