Avalanche slip past Devils with late goal
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[March 10, 2017]
DENVER -- The Colorado Avalanche
have experienced a trio of two-game winning streaks this season but
have failed to extend them to three.
They'll get a fourth crack at it Saturday after a nail-biting win
Thursday night.
Francois Beauchemin scored the tiebreaking goal at 18:46 of the
third period, and the Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils 3-2.
Nathan MacKinnon and Rene Bourque also scored, and Calvin Pickard
made 25 saves for the Avalanche (19-44-3), who won at home for just
the 10th time in 34 games.
"We want to play well in front of our fans," coach Jared Bednar
said. "They've been supporting us and it's been a tough year, but
they keep coming out and cheering us on. We want to make the most of
this homestand."
Taylor Hall and Stefan Noesen had goals for New Jersey, and Cory
Schneider stopped 19 shots. The Devils lost their fifth straight and
are 1-7-2 in their past 10.
They had a chance to end the streak, but Colorado came through with
a big goal in the final 74 seconds when Beauchemin maneuvered around
an attempted poke check by forward Devante Smith-Pelly and beat
Schneider high with a shot from the left circle. It was Beauchemin's
third goal of the season.
"We have a winger go out to the point, guy stick checks,
(Beauchemin) swings by him, stays in, scores the goal," Devils coach
John Hynes said. "Can't play like that with a 1:27 left. That's the
game."
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New Jersey pulled Schneider for an extra attacker in the final
minute but couldn't tie it.
"It was a good feeling," Beauchemin said. "Any win is great right
now. It's a tough situation to be in, but we can try to get some
positives by winning some games."
The Devils (25-30-12) outshot Colorado 13-2 in the second period and
had the first three shots of the third, the last ending a scoreless
drought of 174 minutes, 51 seconds when Hall beat Pickard 42 seconds
into the period to tie it at 1.
"We have struggled to score goals at times this year and we're
struggling right now," Hall said. "When that happens, you want to
simplify things and, make sure pucks are getting to the net and
getting to the slot. As the game wore on, especially in the last two
periods, we were getting that done."
The Avalanche answered at 4:05, when Sven Andrighetto stole the puck
from Miles Wood and fed Bourque, who scored his 11th of the season.
Noesen responded 2:08 later with his fifth of the season to make it
2-2 and set up the dramatic ending.
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![](../images/031017pics/sports71.jpg)
Avalanche defenseman Francois Beauchemin (32) celebrates with
teammates after scoring the game winning goal during the third
period against the New Jersey Devils at Pepsi Center. The Avalanche
won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
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"I was in doubt there a little bit," said Pickard,
who bounced back after a rough night in Winnipeg on Saturday to win
two straight. "They were pushing pretty hard, taking it to us and to
get that late goal, it was nice. Back-to-back efforts is a big thing
for us right now."
New Jersey and Colorado are ranked 29th and 30th, respectively, in
the NHL in goals this season, so it wasn't surprising that it took
more than 31 minutes before anyone scored. MacKinnon provided the
offense when his shot from the high boards nicked off a New Jersey
player and through Schneider's legs at 11:11 of the second period.
It was his second straight game with a goal after going 15 games
without one. He has 14 goals.
New Jersey managed to get just three shots on goal in the first
period.
"Our first period really set us back, and it made it difficult for
us to gain momentum," Hall said. "But eventually we did, and it's
just a tough loss."
NOTES: The Avalanche were 0-for-3 on the power play a game after
ending a drought Tuesday of 23 empty opportunities spanning 10
games. ... New Jersey D Andy Greene missed his fourth consecutive
game. The Devils' captain left the team following the death of his
father on Saturday but rejoined the club in Colorado on Thursday.
However, he remained out. ... C Joe Colborne and D Cody Goloubef
were scratched for the Avalanche. ... Devils C Jacob Josefson missed
his fifth straight game due to an upper-body injury. [© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All
rights reserved.]
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