|
 For one night, however, the Avalanche recaptured the magic that
made last season so special.
Center Matt Duchene had a goal and an assist and added the deciding
tally in the shootout, and the Avalanche rallied to beat the
Winnipeg Jets 4-3 on Thursday night.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Avalanche rallied from at
least a one-goal deficit in seven straight wins for the first time
in franchise history.
"We were resilient and it was a nice comeback," Avalanche coach
Patrick Roy said. "To win in the shootout was good for us. You
always hope a game like this will bring confidence and a belief in
ourselves."
Right winger Jarome Iginla and center Ryan O'Reilly also had goals
for the Avalanche, who snapped a four-game losing streak.
Colorado goaltender Calvin Pickard made 30 saves and stopped both
Winnipeg shots in the shootout.
The Avalanche haven't had much to cheer about of late. A blowout
loss in Winnipeg last week was followed with a shutout at the hands
of Nashville on Tuesday.
Colorado appeared headed to its fifth straight loss before rallying.
Center Mark Scheifele had a goal and two assists for the Jets, and
left winger Andrew Ladd and defenseman Paul Postma also scored.
Goaltender Ondrej Pavelec had 23 saves, and right winger Michael
Frolik contributed two assists for Winnipeg, which is 5-0-3 in its
last eight games.
"We played well to get a 3-1 lead," Scheifele said. "Then we took
our foot off the gas in the third period and they were able to
generate chances."
Scheifele appeared to seal the win when he made it 3-1 with a goal
at 4:32 of the third period before Colorado rallied.
Iginla got the Avalanche back within one with his seventh of the
season at 12:55, and O'Reilly tied it when he tapped in a rebound
with 2:42 left in regulation.
"I just went to the net and tried to find the rebound," O'Reilly
said. "I had a good bounce and I tapped it in. It was a relief."
Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon started the shootout with a goal.
Jets center Mathieu Perreault and right winger Blake Wheeler had
their shootout wrist shots stopped by Pickard.
Pickard got the Avalanche to the shootout with two great saves on a
breakaway midway through the overtime. Ladd came in clear and put a
shot on net that Pickard saved. Center Bryan Little trailed the play
and had a clear shot, but Pickard again made the stop.
"I just wanted to be patient," Pickard said. "Our backcheck forced
(Ladd) to make a quick shot. I was playing pretty aggressive and the
rebound kind of just lay there. I made a desperation-mode save."
[to top of second column] |
After a scoreless first period, the Jets (15-9-6) broke through on
the power play at the start of the second. Pickard made a save on
Scheifele's shot but lost sight of the puck when it bounced in the
air. It landed in the crease, and Ladd poked it in with a scrum of
players in front at 1:21.
It was his 11th goal of the season.
"Mark made a nice play to get the puck to the net," Ladd said. "I
was able to get the rebound and follow it up."
The Avalanche (10-13-6) didn't take long to respond. Left winger
Alex Tanguay, who had two assists, brought the puck into the zone,
passed it to defenseman Jan Hejda, who sent a cross-ice pass to
Duchene. Duchene redirected Hedja's pass high over Pavelec at 3:55
for his 10th of the season.
It was Colorado's first goal in two games, which spanned 93:31.
Soon after, the two captains got into a rare fight in the Colorado
end. Off a faceoff, Ladd and Colorado left winger Gabriel Landeskog
dropped the gloves and went at it.
"He wanted him last game and it didn't happen," Duchene said of
Landeskog. "This game, you could tell he wanted him bad and wanted
to get some momentum for us. He did a heck of a job stepping up
there."
Winnipeg got the lead back with another power-play goal at 14:40 of
the second. Scheifele's centering pass was tipped by Hejda, but it
got through and Postma came down the slot and beat Pickard to make
it 2-1.
NOTES: Winnipeg LW Evander Kane served the second half of his
two-game suspension for boarding. Kane was suspended after his hit
on Anaheim D Clayton Stoner on Sunday night. ... Avalanche LW Jamie
McGinn is likely done for the season after undergoing back surgery
Wednesday. McGinn has four goals and two assists in 19 games this
season. ... Jets G Ondrej Pavelec appeared in his 299th career NHL
game. ... Colorado recalled RW Dennis Everberg from Lake Erie of the
AHL on Thursday. The Avalanche also placed C John Mitchell on
injured reserve with a leg injury. Everberg played in place of C
Paul Carey, who was sick.
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