The Colorado Avalanche and their outstanding goaltender Craig Anderson shut out the Edmonton Oilers 3-0 Saturday night, making that two in a row against the bottom fed Edmonton team. In what should have been a blowout, much like the last time the two met, the Avs managed to grab a crucial two points to keep them ahead of the teams chasing them and merely four points behind the Vancouver Canucks.
Courtesy of NHL.com
On a night that would make alum Mike Ricci proud, the Burgundy and Blue out fought Jeff Deslauriers outstanding goaltending in order to overcome Edmonton. In fact, it was a bit of a goalie battle obviously as Anderson had to fight to keep the goose egg that the oil seemed content to own.
Truth be told, the game shouldn’t have been as close as it was for the majority, as Edmonton has really fallen off this year.
It was truly a night for Colorado’s defense to shine, as they held Edmonton to 20 feeble shots, four of those in the first period. On top of that, defensemen assisted on all 3 goals, with Ryan Wilson scoring the second goal of the game. Scott Hannan contributed to Wojtek Wolski’s 17th goal of the year on a beautiful flip pass that caught the Oil off guard in the neutral zone.
In the second period, Ryan Wilson found himself holding a rebound in the zone. With no clear play, he made a smart move by throwing the puck on net, and it paid off as it trickled under Deslauriers and provided some sweet justice against the team that knocked him out recently with a hit from behind.
It wasn’t anything special, but it was a huge boost at that point, as the game was still wide open. Adam Foote received an assist on the goal, and decided he wasn’t finished helping out, assisting on Brandon Yip’s empty net chip shot (his 9th).
What you might have missed was Adam Foote playing with a face shield to protect his intimidating double black eyes and Ryan O’Reilly left the game with a foot injury. John-Michael Liles was a healthy scratch again, fueling more rumors of a trade.
This was a good win by the Avs here and it was nice to grab an easy 2 points in a time where every point counts until the end of the season.
What do you think about Edmonton this season? Are they sellers at the deadline? Did they shoot themselves down by signed the Bulin Wall despite his age and tendency towards injury?
Related posts:
- Liles Benched, Anderson In Net
- Avs. vs. Wild – Round 5
- Footer, Hendricks Activated – Preissing Waived
- Avs Shutout Blues On Road
- Avs vs. Jackets Game Notes
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