LDN - Sports

Barrie leads Avs past Pens

[December 19, 2017] DENVER -- Losing Erik Johnson before playing the Pittsburgh Penguins was a blow for the Colorado Avalanche.

Tyson Barrie made up for the veteran defenseman's absence.

Barrie scored two goals, Semyon Varlamov had 30 saves, and the Avalanche beat the Penguins 4-2 on Monday night.

J.T. Compher and Mikko Rantanen also scored and Sven Andrighetto had two assists for Colorado, which swept the season series from the two-time reigning Stanley Cup champions.

Colorado won the only other matchup in Pittsburgh a week ago.

The Avalanche (16-15-2) were without Johnson -- the team's top defenseman and ice-time leader -- while he served the first of his two-game suspension for boarding Vladislav Namestnikov in Saturday's loss to Tampa Bay. Going against Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin is tough when you're at full strength on the blue line, but Johnson's absence made it harder.

"You can't replace EJ," Barrie said. "It'll be nice to get him back here after another game. Everyone's got to step up and do the best they can and try and pick up the slack."

Chad Ruhwedel had a goal and an assist, Malkin also scored and Matthew Murray had 33 saves for Pittsburgh (17-15-3). The Penguins have lost four of their last five.

"We got outplayed. We got outplayed in the second period badly," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "I thought they were hungrier than we were. We took penalties. I think we took three or four penalties in the second period. That doesn't help. But we got outplayed. They were better than us."

The Avalanche took control with a pair of goals in the second period. Barrie broke a 1-1 tie with his second of the game after Pittsburgh's Ian Cole went off for crosschecking. His shot from the point went through teammates and Penguins players and beat Murray at 5:56 of the second.

It was one of a team-high 11 shot attempts for Barrie, who leads the Avalanche in points with 27.

"I thought Tyson was outstanding tonight," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "I love the way he was shooting the puck."

Colorado took a 3-1 lead into the third after Compher scored at 18:20 of the second. The center knocked Andrighetto's rebound out of the air and past Murray. It was Compher's fifth goal of the season and his first in nine games.

The goal capped a big period for Colorado, which outshot the Penguins 15-6.

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Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie (4) celebrates his first goal of the game in the first period against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

"(The) second period is very important," Malkin said. "We lost (it), and we lost game."

The Avalanche also benefitted from a good game from Varlamov -- and a little puck luck. He stopped Phil Kessel on a breakaway early in the first and then was able to clear away Josh Archibald's shot that dribbled through his legs and rested on the goal line in the second period.

Malkin cut Pittsburgh's deficit to one with his 11th goal 1:25 into the third, and the Penguins put pressure on Colorado the rest of the period. Their best chance to score came in the last six minutes when Ryan Reaves hit the post on a rebound shot.

Murray came off for an extra skater in the final two minutes and Rantanen scored into the empty net at 18:27.

Barrie gave Colorado a 1-0 lead at 5:04 of the first and Ruhwedel's shot right off a faceoff hit Varlamov and trickled through the goalie at 10:39 of the first to tie it.

Both of Barrie's goals came through screens, and the first one set the tone for the game.

"I picked it up by the time it was a couple of feet in front of me," Murray said of Barrie's goal in the first. "Just wasn't able to react quick enough. He had a couple of inches to put it inside the post and he made a pretty good shot."

NOTES: Penguins RW Patric Hornqvist was sent back to Pittsburgh for further evaluation of his upper-body injury suffered in Saturday's 4-2 win In Arizona. Hornqvist has 11 goals and 10 assists in 31 games this season. ... Colorado C Alexander Kerfoot returned to the lineup after missing three games with a foot injury. Kerfoot was hurt by a shot from teammate Erik Johnson in the game in Pittsburgh on Dec. 11. ... Pittsburgh C Dominik Simon was scratched due to illness. ... Johnson is the second key Avalanche player to be suspended this season. Captain Gabriel Landeskog served a four-game suspension in November.

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