Despite losing Ryan O’Reilly to a bruised foot, the Avalanche did a great job on the penalty kill tonight against the St. Louis Blues. The energy on the ice was high as the Avs came off a 3-0 shutout vs. Edmonton on the 6th. The Blues came out of the gate strong, getting on the scoreboard first, but were soon shut down by the Avalanche’s overall game.
Photo by Michael Martin - Getty Images
Eric Brewer opened up by scoring on Craig Anderson 3:34 into the 1st with a wrister from the point. It would be one of the two goals Anderson let by for the entire game. The puck flew off Brewer’s stick and through a lot of traffic. Had Anderson seen the puck, it wouldn’t have gone in, but that’s the point of screening the goaltender. In fact, Anderson complained that Backes had interfered with him, but after a replay, I’m not sure where I could see it. The ref ignored Andy’s plea and play continued.
The Avs answered back 28 seconds later with a goal of their own. T.J. Galiardi received a pass from Chris Stewart, who received a Gordie Howe Hat Trick in this game, and buried it past Chris Mason. Erik Johnson wasn’t too pleased with the score tied, so he notched another one for St. Louis by wristing it past Andy through traffic. After that shot, the Burgundy Boys picked up their game even more and Anderson wasn’t about to let another puck through.
About nine minutes after Johnson regained the lead, Brandon Yip tied up the game again with a power play goal. Yipper was hungry all night for a goal and that hunger only grew after his first. The 1st period ended after the Blues and Avalanche traded goals of two apiece.
Photo by Michael Martin - Getty Images
Period the 2nd was where the magic happened. The Avs came out the door ready to play, ready to score, and ready to chew bubble gum. Unfortunately for the Blues, the Avs were all out of gum (sorry for the They Live!/Duke Nukum reference). Chris Stewart tipped in a shot past Mason and was 2/3 into his Gordie Howe Hat Trick.
The domination continued a minute and a half later with a goal by Paul Stastny. Staz received the puck off of Marek Svatos and backhanded it top right over Mason’s shoulder. You could tell that Mason was having an off night. Actually, he’s been in a bit of a sophomore slump much like Columbus goaltender Steve Mason. Maybe it has something to do with the last name of Mason…
Two and a half minutes after that, Brandon Yip got his second goal of the night with assists going to Wolski and Matt Duchene. Dutchy still remains #1 in rookie scoring with 40 points (18g, 22a) and is cruising 7 points above #1 draft pick John Tavares. Once the 3rd period began, Chris Mason sat on the pine and Ty Conklin took position between the pipes.
The third period was scoreless, but still as exciting.
On a final note, David Koci is out for awhile with a broken hand. During his fight with D.J. King 2:21 into the 1st, Koci broke his hand by repeatedly bludgeoning King with it. A worthy reason, but is it really a surprise? For a guy who plays about 3 minutes a game, gets in a fight, and is done for the rest of regulation, I don’t see it as a big loss to the Boys in Burgundy.
Related posts:
- Avs Shutout Blues On Road
- Avalanche Make Mason Smash!
- Budaj In, Duchene 3rd Star
- Ryan O’Reilly Out Vs. Blues
- Avs Squeak by Jackets
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