Game #37 - Chicago Blackhawks 7, Colorado Avalanche 2

Goals:
CHI - Patrick Sharp (19) - from Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook (12:27 1ST)
CHI - Jonathan Toews (14) - from Marian Hossa and Niklas Hjalmarsson (18:03 1ST)
CHI - Patrick Sharp PPG (20) - from Duncan Keith and Jonathan Toews (19:18 1ST)
CHI - Patrick Sharp (21 - Hat Trick) - from Niklas Hjalmarsson and Jonathan Toews (0:27 2ND)
CHI - Jonathan Toews (15) - from Patrick Sharp (8:21 2ND)
COL - Paul Stastny (11) - from Gabriel Landeskog and P.A. Parenteau (9:07 2ND)
CHI - Michal Handzus (4) - from Patrick Kane and Kris Versteeg (13:30 2ND)
CHI - Kris Versteeg (8) - from Duncan Keith and Michal Handzus (17:48 2ND)
COL - Gabriel Landeskog (11) - from P.A. Parenteau (7:37 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Antti Raanta (16 saves on 18 shots: 9-1-2) LG - J.S. Giguere (17 saves on 24 shots: 7-3-0), Semyon Varlamov (13 saves on 13 shots in relief of Giguere)

Three Stars:
3. Duncan Keith (3 assists) - Chicago
2. Jonathan Toews (2 goals, 2 assists) - Chicago
1. Patrick Sharp (3 goals, 1 assist, GWG) - Chicago

Game #38 - The Avs head home for a 7-game home-stand starting with a game against the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday night (@8PM ET)

-Joel Forman - Colorado Avalanche News

Game #36 - San Jose Sharks 5, Colorado Avalanche 4 (SO)

Goals:
COL - Nathan MacKinnon PPG (8) - from Ryan O'Reilly and Erik Johnson (11:05 1ST)
SJS - Jason Demers PPG (2) - from Joe Thornton and Brent Burns (13:59 1ST)
COL - Gabriel Landeskog (10) - from Paul Stastny and P.A. Parenteau (19:11 1ST)
SJS - Brent Burns (10) - from Joe Thornton and Matt Irwin (5:53 2ND)
SJS - Matt Irwin PPG (2) - from Dan Boyle and Tommy Wingels (13:02 2ND)
COL - Erik Johnson (6) - from Ryan O'Reilly and Matt Duchene (18:09 3RD)
COL - Jamie McGinn (6) - from John Mitchell and Max Talbot (18:21 3RD)
SJS - Joe Pavelski (15) - from Joe Thornton and Brent Burns (19:40 3RD)
Shootout winner - Joe Pavelski (SJS)
Goalies:
WG - Antti Niemi (29 saves on 33 shots: 19-7-6) LG - Semyon Varlamov (41 saves on 45 shots: 16-8-3)

Unfortunately I was without power from Saturday night until late Monday night, so I only caught the end of the 3rd and OT/SO. The Avs gained a huge point with a big 3rd period rally, including 2 goals in 12 seconds, but gave up a 4-3 lead with a Joe Pavelski goal with 20 seconds left. Overall a tough loss but another big point gained, as the Avs are 0-0-2 on the road trip against 3 of the best teams in the NHL (LA, SJS and CHI)

Three Stars:
3. Erik Johnson - EJ had 1 goal and 1 assist in the loss.
2. Brent Burns - Burns had 1 goal and added 2 assists in the win
1. Joe Thornton - Jumbo Joe was the best player on the ice, picking up 3 assists in the win

Play of the Game - Gabriel Landeskog's goal gets it tonight, a great 3-way passing play from Parenteau to Stastny and Landeskog.

Game #37 - The Avs conclude their 3-game road trip with a meeting with the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night (@8PM ET)

-Joel Forman - Colorado Avalanche News

Game #35 - Los Angeles Kings 3, Colorado Avalanche 2 (SO)

Goals:

LAK - Jeff Carter (11) - from Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar (19:28 1ST)

LAK - Justin Williams (12) - from Jarret Stoll and Dustin Brown (5:25 2ND)

COL - Erik Johnson PPG (5) - from Matt Duchene and Ryan O'Reilly (14:02 2ND) 

COL - Ryan O'Reilly PPG (12) - from Matt Duchene and Tyson Barrie (10:27 3RD)

Shootout winner - Anze Kopitar (LAK)

Goalies:

WG - Martin Jones (23 saves on 25 shots: 8-0-0) LG - Semyon Varlamov (37 saves on 39 shots: 16-8-2)

The Avs and Kings played a hard-fought game tonight and the Avs walked away with 1 point in a 3-2 shootout loss. Despite the loss the Avs should feel good about this game, not only did they earn a point but they erased a 2-0 deficit as well. The Kings have been one of the best teams in the NHL this season, so far against the Kings this season the Avs are 1-0-1 earning 3 out of 4 points. Jeff Carter opened the scoring for the Kings, banging a rebound past Varlamov late in the 1st. Justin Williams would make it 2-0 in the 2nd, as he batted a puck out of mid air past Varlamov, a beautiful goal. The Avs would cut the lead in half on the PP, a great spin-move by Duchene setup an Erik Johnson shot who made no mistake blasting it past Martin Jones. The Avs would then tie it at 2 again on the PP, a nice give-and-go with O'Reilly and Duchene and O'Reilly would get the goal. The Kings would win the shootout 1-0, as a goal from Anze Kopitar ended up being the winner. Overall a good game all around, both teams fought hard and played some great physical hockey. It was a good learning game for the Avs, they won't win every game but it is encouraging to see an effort like that in a loss. Give credit to Semyon Varlamov, he kept the Avs in the game with some great saves including a beautiful glove save on Colin Fraser. Also Martin Jones deserves some credit as well, becoming only the 2nd goalie in NHL history to start his career 8-0-0. Not the end result the Avs wanted, but a big 1 point earned.

Three Stars:
3. Semyon Varlamov - Varly had a great performance in the loss, making 37 saves on 39 shots.
2. Matt Duchene - Duchene was the best player on the ice tonight, setting up both of the Avs goals.
1. Martin Jones - Jones made 23 saves on 25 shots to improved to 8-0-0 on the season.

Play of the Game - Semyon Varlamov gets it tonight with his huge glove save on Colin Fraser.

Game #36 - The Avs continue their 3-game road trip with game #2, a meeting with the San Jose Sharks on Monday night (@1030PM ET)

-Joel Forman - Colorado Avalanche News

Game #34 - Colorado Avalanche 4, Edmonton Oilers 2

Matt Duchene seals the W with his empty-net goal

Goals:
EDM - Taylor Hall (13) - from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jeff Petry (14:50 1ST)
COL - Tyson Barrie PPG (2) - from Paul Stastny and Matt Duchene (1:07 2ND)
EDM - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (9) - from Taylor Hall (12:10 2ND)
COL - Ryan O'Reilly (11) - from Nathan MacKinnon and Matt Duchene (15:00 2ND)
COL - Max Talbot SHG (4) - from Marc-Andre Cliche (18:28 2ND) *GWG*
COL - Matt Duchene EN (16) - from Max Talbot and Jan Hejda (19:58 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Semyon Varlamov (27 saves on 29 shots: 16-8-1) LG - Devan Dubnyk (35 saves on 38 shots: 9-15-2)

The Avs got some sweet revenge against Oilers tonight, a great team effort leading to a 4-2 win at home. Following an 8-2 rout on December 5th the Avs came out to prove something tonight, they new that they let the Oilers get the better of them last time and weren't going to let that happen again. The Avs now sit at 23-10-1 on the season with 47 points out of a possible 68. The Avs came out flying in this game, throwing everything at Devan Dubnyk who was up to the task. Taylor Hall would open the scoring for the 2nd straight meeting between the teams, as a nice pass by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins sent Hall in alone on Varlamov and made no mistake. The Oilers lead 1-0 after the 1st, however shots were 17-5 for the Avs. Late in the 1st Sam Gagner dealt a vicious cross-check to the face of Paul Statsny and was assessed a 5-minute major and game misconduct. To make it worse for the Oilers Taylor Hall was given an unsportsmanlike penalty at the end of the 1st, leading to a 2-minute 5 on 3 for the Avs to start the 2nd. The Avs made the Oilers pay as Tyson Barrie tied the game at 1 with a great slapshot past Dubnyk. The Oilers would take the lead later in the period, a nice play by Taylor Hall to force a turnover behind the net and he fed Nugent-Hopkins who tapped it into an open net. The Avs would respond 3 minutes later on a beautiful tic-tac-toe play from Duchene to MacKinnon to O'Reilly and past Dubnyk. With 2 minutes left in the 2nd Patrick Bordeleau took an interference penalty, but the Avs were the ones to take advantage as Max Talbot scored short-handed to put the Avs up 3-2. A great play by Marc-Andre Cliche to intercept a pass at hte blue-line, who went on a 2-on-1 with Talbot and made a great pass to Max for the goal. Shots were 13-10 for the Avs in the 2nd, and 30-15 overall. The 3rd period was a close one, both teams had their chances but Varlamov/Dubnyk were up to the task. Matt Duchene iced the goal with an empty-netter, his team-leading 16th goal of the season and 3rd point of the night. The Avs got 3 goals in 3 different ways in the 2nd; on the power-play, even strength and short-handed. Overall a great team effort by the Avs tonight, lead by Matt Duchene. The Avs definitely didn't have their best game, especially sitting back in the 3rd, but its the big 2 points that matters. A big win heading into a tough 3-game road trip against Los Angeles, San Jose and Chicago.

Sam Gagner 5-min major for cross-checking and a game misconduct, a big turning point for the Avs. 

Three Stars:
3. Taylor Hall - Hall was the best Oiler on the ice tonight, scoring 1 goal and adding an assist.
2. Max Talbot - Talbot scored a huge goal for the Avs, a short-handed marker late in the 2nd which was the eventual game-winner
1. Matt Duchene - As is the case on most nights, Matt Duchene was the best Av on the ice tonight scoring 1 goal and adding 2 assists, his 3rd straight multi-point game.

Play of the Game - Ryan O'Reilly's goal gets it tonight, a great tic-tac-toe from Duchene to MacKinnon to O'Reilly to the back of the net: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKN2WbrxEag

Game #35 -The Avs head out on a tough 3-game road trip starting with a meeting with the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night (@4PM ET)

Yakupov's reaction to O'Reilly's goal

-Joel Forman - Colorado Avalanche News

Game #33 - Dallas Stars 3, Colorado Avalanche 2

Goals:
COL - Matt Duchene PPG (15) - from Erik Johnson and Tyson Barrie (2:37 1ST)
DAL - Ray Whitney (2) - from Shawn Horcoff and Alex Chiasson (7:31 1ST)
COL - Erik Johnson (4) - from Matt Duchene and Nick Holden (10:20 2ND)
DAL - Ray Whitney PPG (3) - from Alex Chiasson and Sergei Gonchar (17:19 2ND)
DAL - Colton Sceviour (2) - from Rich Peverley (17:08 3RD) *GWG*
Goalies:
WG - Dan Ellis (25 saves on 27 shots: 4-3-0) LG - J.S. Giguere (25 saves on 28 shots: 7-2-0)

Coming off one of their best performances of the season, the Avs had 1 costly turnover that the Stars made them pay for in an otherwise solid game. The Stars beat the Avs 3-2 tonight in the 2nd half of a home-and-away series thanks to a late 3rd period goal from Colton Sceviour. A horrible play by Nick Holden on the goal, it was a 2-on-1 at center and he committed to the player way to early, leading to a breakaway pass to Sceviour who made no mistake past Giguere. The Avs are now 22-10-1 on the season. Matt Duchene opened the scoring for the Avs, scoring the Avs first PP goal in 11 games. The Stars tied it 5 minutes later, as Ray Whitney put a rebound past Giguere. Erik Johnson made it 2-1 in the 2nd, a nice spin move and pass set up Johnson who wired it past Ellis. Ray Whitney would then make it 2-2 on the PP, Tyler Seguin missed a wide open net and Whitney put home a pass seconds later. The game was very even, shots were 28-27 for the Stars and both goalies played well. Dan Ellis stole the Stars 2 points tonight, making a big glove save on Landeskog moments before the Sceviour goal. He them made about 4 saves in the last 30 seconds of the game with the Avs pressing for the tying goal. Overall a decent game but a tough way to lose it with a goal with 3 minutes left. A poor performance from the Avs forwards tonight that aren't named Matt Duchene, they really didn't get much going. The PP problems were still a big problem despite scoring a PP goal finally, as the Avs went 1-6 on the PP and 1-11 in the 2 games against the Stars. The Avs need to cut these defensive miscues out of the equation, too many turnovers costing the Avs big points. It was Nate Guenin with a bad turnover against the Wild, tonight it was Nick Holden with the pinch. Both were unacceptable plays that the Avs need to stop if they want to be a playoff team. Roy is not gonna be happy with the team after this one, they had a win within their grasps and couldn't capitalize.

Three Stars:
3. Dan Ellis - Ellis made 25 saves on 27 shots for the win.
2. Matt Duchene - Duchene was the best Avalanche on the ice tonight, scoring 1 goal and adding an assist.
1. Ray Whitney - The veteran forward scored 2 goals in the win.

Play of the Game - Erik Johnson's goal gets it tonight, a great move and setup by Matt Duchene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBMjM8yNLW0

Game #34 - The Avs head home for a game against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night (@930PM ET)

-Joel Forman - Colorado Avalanche News

Game #32 - Colorado Avalanche 6, Dallas Stars 2

Cory Sarich, Nathan MacKinnon, Ryan O'Reilly and Matt Duchene celebrate with Andre Benoit after his 2nd period goal

Goals:
COL - Nathan MacKinnon (7) - from Matt Duchene and Cory Sarich (10:38 1ST)
DAL - Kevin Connauton (1) - from Tyler Seguin and Alex Goligoski (19:27 1ST)
COL - Paul Stastny (9) - from Max Talbot and Jamie McGinn (8:29 2ND)
COL - Andre Benoit (2) - from Ryan O'Reilly and Matt Duchene (13:42 2ND) *GWG*
COL - Paul Stastny (10) - from Gabriel Landeskog and P.A. Parenteau (16:32 2ND)
COL - Erik Johnson (3) - from Paul Stastny and P.A. Parenteau (19:57 2ND)
DAl - Tyler Seguin (18) - from Valeri Nichushkin and Sergei Gonchar (3:26 3RD)
COL - Tyson Barrie (1) - from P.A. Parenteau and Paul Stastny (15:16 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Semyon Varlamov (31 saves on 33 shots: 15-8-1) LG - Kari Lehtonen (42 saves on 48 shots: 12-8-5)

The Avs were due for a game like this, 48 shots on goal (a season-high) and 6 goals in a 6-2 rout of the Dallas Stars. The Avs have been playing very close, tight games lately and were due for a high-scoring outbreak like this. The Avs now stand at 22-9-1 on the season, with 45 points. Coming off a tough loss against Minnesota a few nights ago the Avs came out flying in this contest, and they were rewarded when Nathan MacKinnon scored a beauty for his 7th goal of the season. The Stars would tie it at 1 as Kevin Connauton put home his 1st NHL goal with 33 seconds left in the period. The Avs came out in the 2nd and had one of their best periods of the season, scoring 4 goals in the frame. Paul Stastny made it 2-1 after a great pass from Max Talbot. Andre Benoit made it 3-1 beating Lehtonen with a point shot. Stastny scored his 2nd goal of the game and 10th of the season after tipping home a Landeskog shot. Erik Johnson would make it 5-1 with a slapshot from the point with 3 seconds left in the 2nd. Tyler Seguin would make it 5-2 early in the 3rd after a nice give-and-go with Valeri Nichushkin. Tyson Barrie would put the game away late in the 3rd scoring his 1st goal of the season. Overall a great performance by the Avs, they outshoot the Stars 48-33 and had a great 2nd period. Paul Stastny has had 2 dominating games against the Dallas Stars this season, with 2 goals in both contests. The Avs got a huge contribution from their D tonight, with Benoit, Johnson and Barrie all scoring goals. Something the Avs have lacked in previous years is offensive production from the defense, and tonight showed how improved the Avs are on D. After a hot start the Avs had faced some adversity recently, it was great to see a game like this where the Avs had everything going for them. Overall a huge 2 points against another division rival.

Matt Duchene and Paul Statsny celebrate with their victory dance

Three Stars:
3. P.A. Parenteau - Parenteau picked up 3 assists and was solid all night.
2. Matt Duchene - Dutchy had 2 assists for the Avs tonight, but really got things going setting up the MacKinnon goal
1. Paul Stastny - Stazz had a monster game tonight, scoring 2 goals and adding 2 assists.

Play of the Game - Nathan MacKinnon gets it tonight with this absolute snipe past Kari Lehtonen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGMQBMQgQBQ

Game #33 - The Avs head to Dallas for the 2nd game of a home-and-away series Stars on Tuesday night (@830PM ET)

The Avs celebrate a 6-2 win at home

-Joel Forman - Colorado Avalanche News

Game #31 - Minnesota Wild 2, Colorado Avalanche 1 (SO)

Goals:
COL - Max Talbot (3) - from Cory Sarich and John Mitchell (10:48 2ND)
MIN - Nino Niederreiter (6) - from Ryan Suter and Jason Pominville (16:07 3RD)
Shootout winner - Mikko Koivu (MIN)
Goalies:
WG - Josh Harding (26 saves on 27 shots: 17-5-3) LG - Semyon Varlamov (26 saves on 27 shots: 14-8-1)

The Avs were 4 minutes away from a win tonight and blew it thanks to a horrible turnover by Nate Guenin, and the Wild beat them 2-1 in a shootout. This marks the first time the Avs have lost in a Shootout/Overtime this season, a tough one to swallow considering they were so close to winning and its a division rival. Considering how good the Avs played defensively tonight it is all wasted by one bad play by Guenin, simply put they can't afford to have players like Guenin, Barrie, Holden etc in the lineup if they are going to cost them points. The Avs need consistency on D, and the last few weeks there hasn't been that. Max Talbot scored the only goal for the Avs tonight, while Minnesota got a goal from Nino Niederreiter and a shootout winner from Mikko Koivu. The Avs still gained a point tonight, but this was a bad loss because the Wild are chasing them in the division standings. The Avs can't afford to give more points up like this, if they want to stay in the playoff hunt they need to win these games in regulation. Overall a good effort tonight wasted by 1 shitty turnover, but that's hockey for ya. Semyon Varlamov was great in the loss, he made some big saves and had no chance on the Wild's only goal.

Three Stars:
3. Mikko Koivu - Koivu scored the game-winner in the shootout
2. Semyon Varlamov - Varly made 26 saves on 27 shots
1. Josh Harding - Harding made 26 saves on 27 shots for the win

Game #32 - The Avs play again at home with a game against the Dallas Stars on Monday night (@9PM ET)

-Joel Forman - Colorado Avalanche News

Game #30 - Colorado Avalanche 4, Winnipeg Jets 3 (SO)

Matt Duchene celebrates with the Avs bench after his 1st period goal

Goals:
WPG - Blake Wheeler (8) - from Tobias Enstrom and Bryan Little (0:24 1ST)
WPG - Michael Frolik PPG (8) - from Jacob Trouba and Grant Clitsome (5:25 1ST)
COL - Matt Duchene (13) - from Ryan O'Reilly and Nate Guenin (15:08 1ST)
COL - Ryan O'Reilly (10) - from Matt Duchene and Cory Sarich (14:47 2ND)
COL - Matt Duchene (14) - from Nathan MacKinnon (19:58 2ND)
WPG - Blake Wheeler PPG (9) - from Mark Scheifele and Grant Clitsome (10:00 3RD)
Shootout winner - P.A. Parenteau (COL)
Goalies:
WG - Semyon Varlamov (34 saves on 37 shots: 14-8-0) LG - Ondrej Pavelec (23 saves on 26 shots: 10-12-4)

The Avalanche needed a big game from their top guys and got it from Matt Duchene tonight, who scored twice and added an assist in a 4-3 shootout win over the Jets. The Avs faced some adversity tonight, down 2-0 5 minutes in they were able to fight their way back and eventually win it in a shootout with goals from Duchene and Parenteau and 2 saves from Varlamov. The Jets opened the scoring 24 seconds in, as Blake Wheeler's shot banked off an Avs defenseman and past Varlamov. The Jets would then make it 2-0 on the PP, as Michael Frolik tipped a Jacob Trouba shot past Varlamov. Patrick Roy then got his team going in the TV time out, and you could see from this point on the Avs dug deep. Duchene would get one back with 5 minutes left in the period, an incidental collision between Nathan MacKinnon and Blake Wheeler opened up some space in the neutral zone and Duchene had a give and go with Ryan O'Reilly. Duchene then deked instead Dustin Byfuglien's stick and past Pavelec, a big goal for the Avs but even bigger for Duchene (1st goal since November 14th). The shots were 14-4 for the Jets in the 1st, but momentum seemed to swing in favour of the Avs from the Duchene goal. Patrick Roy got the team going in the intermission, as the Avs came out flying in the 2nd. Ryan O'Reilly would tie the game with 5 minutes left in the 2nd, a nice play by Duchene behind the net to spin and feed O'Reilly who made no mistake. Duchene would then get his 2nd of the game with 2 seconds left in the period, as MacKinnon made a nice rush and Duchene put home the rebound. The shots were 14-4 for the Avs in the 2nd, and 18-18 overall. The Jets would tie it on the PP in the 3rd, as Blake Wheeler put a rebound past Varlamov. Shots were 14-5 Jets in the 3rd, but the score remained tied 3-3 going into OT. Both teams had their chances to score, but Varlamov and Pavelec were up to the task. The Jets would shoot first in the shootout and Setoguchi was denied by Varlamov. Matt Duchene then shot next and opened up Pavelec with a deke and beat him five-hole. Andrew Ladd was then stopped by Duchene leading to P.A. Parenteau's chance to win it, and he made no mistake deking to his backhand and beating Pavelec. Can't say enough about Matt Duchene tonight, he was by far the best player on the ice. This was the Duchene we were used to seeing in the early season, and after returning from his injury a few weeks ago he seemed to have had a hard time adjusting back to the game. The Duchene-O'Reilly-MacKinnon line has started to form some great chemistry, this line could be a force for the Avs for the foreseeable future. A big 4-3 win for the Avs, they had lost 3 of 4 games coming in and need this one. The Avs head home up 21-9-0 on the season, a big 2 points tonight.

Matt Duchene, Cory Sarich and Nathan MacKinnon celebrate with Ryan O'Reilly after his 2nd period goal

Three Stars:
3. Ryan O'Reilly - The Factor had 1 goal and 1 assist for the Avs tonight
2. Blake Wheeler - Wheeler was the best Jet on the ice tonight, scoring 2 goals.
1. Matt Duchene - Dutchy was a beast tonight, scoring twice and adding an assist as well as scoring the decisive shootout goal.

Play of the Game - Matt Duchene gets it tonight with his beautiful end-to-end goal:

Game #31 - The Avs head home for a 2-game home-stand starting with a game against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night (@9PM ET)

P.A. Parenteau celebrates his shootout winning goal

-Joel Forman - Colorado Avalanche News

Game #29 - Phoenix Coyotes 3, Colorado Avalanche 1

Goals:
PHX - Antoine Vermette PPG (8) - from Keith Yandle and Mike Ribeiro (8:31 2ND)
PHX - Jordan Szwarz (2) - from Jeff Halpern and Paul Bissonnette (12:06 2ND)
COL - Patrick Bordeleau (4) - from Cody McLeod and Cory Sarich (14:28 2ND)
PHX - Antoine Vermette (9) - from Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Mikkel Boedker (15:33 2ND)
Goalies:
WG - Thomas Greiss (29 saves on 30 shots: 4-2-0) LG - Semyon Varlamov (22 saves on 25 shots: 13-8-0)

The Coyotes got some revenge against the Avs after they won 4-3 in OT last time, as they defeated the Avs 3-1 thanks to 3 2nd period goals. This is now 2 straight losses for the Avs, and 3 losses in the last 4 games. The Avs are missing 3 key parts of their lineup: Alex Tanguay, Jan Hejda and Ryan Wilson. Especially Hejda and Wilson, the Avs d is really playing awful since they lost Hejda in Edmonton and looks like the Avs of the past. The Avs have also had a tough time scoring lately, Only 7 goals in their last 4 games. Since returning from injury Matt Duchene hasn't been the same, something makes me think that he is still hurting. The Avs pressed in the first, but couldn't beat Greiss. The score remained 0-0 after the 1st, with the shots 11-9 for the Avs. Things opened up in the 2nd period, as Antoine Vermette opened the scoring om the PP. Four minutes later the Coyotes made it 2-0 when Jordan Szwarz scored his 2nd goal of the season. The Avs would cut the lead in half 2 minutes later, as Patrick Bordeleau scored his 4th goal of the season. However the Coyotes would regain their 2 goal lead 1 minute later, with Vermette scoring his 2nd. The score was 3-1 heading into the intermission, shots were 11-7 for Phoenix in the 2nd. The Avs pressed in the 3rd, but couldn't beat Greiss. Overall another dismal performance by the Avs, who have falled into a tough spot the last few weeks and need to turn things around.

Three Stars:
3. Keith Yandle - Yandle had an assist and was great on defense all night for the Coyotes.
2. Thomas Greiss - Greiss way the key in the win for the Coyotes, making 28 saves on 29 shots.
1. Antoine Vermette - Vermette scored the 1st and last goals of the game.

Game #30 - The Avs look to get things fixed on the road with a game against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night (@8PM ET)

-Joel Forman - Colorado Avalanche News

Game #28 - Vancouver Canucks 3, Colorado Avalanche 1

Goals:
VAN - Mike Santorelli (7) - from Chris Higgins (5:43 1ST)
VAN - Ryan Kesler (15) - from Mike Santorelli and Chris Higgins (1:32 3RD) *GWG*
VAN - Mike Santorelli (8) - from Jason Garrison (7:17 3RD)
COL - Jamie McGinn (5) - from Cody McLeod and Nick Holden (19:52 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Roberto Luongo (28 saves on 29 shots: 14-8-5) LG - J.S. Giguere (18 saves on 21 shots: 7-1-0)

A bad ending to a bad road trip, the Avs put up a poor effort tonight in Vancouver losing 3-1 to the Canucks. The Avs broke Luongo's shutout with 7 seconds left, the lone bright spot in the game. The worst part about this one was that the Avs actually played a decent game, they just couldn't score on Luongo. In the past the Canucks pushed around the Avs, winning almost every time the two teams meet. The Avs outshot the Canucks 29-21, and for the 1st 2 periods seemed to be keeping the Canucks at bay. The Canucks got all 3 goals from the Santorelli-Kesler-Higgins line, with Santorelli scoring in the 1st and then Kesler scoring in the 3rd followed by Santorelli's 2nd goal. The Sedins were a non-factor tonight, but so was the Avs top 2 lines. The only players that seemed to show up tonight were Max Talbot and John Mitchell. The Avs top 2 lines have been struggling the last few games, and when that happens you can see the Avs play much worse. Matt Duchene hasn't looked the same since his oblique injury and the Avs need him to get going. Bottom line is the Avs need to change up their strategy against the Canucks, they can't keep losing games against them. The Avs drop to 20-8-0 on the season, and end their 3-game Canadian road trip 1-2.

Three Stars:
3. Chris Higgins - Higgins had 2 assists in the win
2. Roberto Luongo - Lu made 28 saves on 29 shots for the win
1. Mike Santorelli - Santorelli was the best player on the ice tonight, scoring 2 goals and adding an assist

Game #29 - The Avs head back home for a game against the Phoenix Coyotes on Tuesday night (@9PM ET)

-Joel Forman - Colorado Avalanche News

Game #27 - Colorado Avalanche 3, Calgary Flames 2

Avs Head Coach Patrick Roy giving it to the referee 

Goals:
CGY - Kris Russell PPG (4) - from Sven Baertschi and Mikael Backlund (7:01 1ST)
COL - Max Talbot (2) - from John Mitchell (18:00 2ND)
COL - P.A. Parenteau (9) - from Max Talbot and John Mitchell (18:54 2ND)
COL - Nathan MacKinnon (6) - from Gabriel Landeskog (2:28 3RD) *GWG*
CGY - Matt Stajan (5) - from Mike Cammalleri and Kris Russell (18:05 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - J.S. Giguere (26 saves on 28 shots: 7-0-0) LG - Karri Ramo (22 saves on 25 shots: 4-5-1)

Coming off their worst game of the season, the Avs showed some fight and were able to pick up a big 2 points in a 3-2 win over the Calgary Flames. For the first period and a half the Avs really didn't play all that good, and looked like they were headed for another tough game. That all changed thanks to Max Talbot, who tied the game late in the 2nd and set up Parenteau 54 seconds after. The Flames opened the scoring 7 minutes into the game, as a point shot by Kris Russell on the Flames PP beat a screened J.S. Giguere. Giguere was fuming after the goal, he felt he was interfered with by Lee Stempniak and certainly was right to be angry. He pushed the net off the hinges in anger and received a penalty for his actions, which was bad for the Avs but understandable considering he was clearly interfered with. The Flames would take a 1-0 lead into the intermission, leading the Avs 11-5 in shots. The pace in the 2nd period seemed to pick up significantly, both teams traded chances but the goalies were up to the task. Late in the 2nd John Mitchell forced a turnover by Karri Ramo behind the Flames net, and he fed Max Talbot who made no mistake blasting one past a diving Ramo. This was Talbot's first goal as a Avalanche, and you could see how happy he was as he let out several fist pumps. The Avs would then take a 2-1 lead 54 seconds later, as Talbot forced a turnover behind the net and found Parenteau wide open who beat an out of place Ramo. The Avs would take a 2-1 lead into the intermission, shots were 14-7 Avs in the 2nd and 19-18 Avs overall. The Avs would then take a 3-1 lead in the 3rd, as Nathan MacKinnon was in the right place at the right time to put home a Landeskog rebound. The Avs would grind away the rest of the period until the Flames made it 3-2 with 2 minutes left, Matt Stajan tipping home a Cammalleri pass. The Flames would get a few more chances but the Avs would hang on for the 3-2 win, a huge 2 points for this team considering how poorly they played last night. The Avs are now 17-0-0 on the season when leading after 2 periods, a very impressive feat considering the Avs of the last few years were always trailing going into the 3rd. MacKinnon now has 6 goals on the season, 3 of them are game-winning goals. The Avs were much better defensively tonight, especially the pairing of Nate Guenin and Erik Johnson was really solid. Once again not the best performance by the Avs, but the 2 points are all that matters. What a difference a year makes, the Avalanche have more points (40) this season in 27 games than they did all of last season (39 points in 48 games). Can't say enough about Patrick Roy and the job he continues to do every night for the Avs, he's done more than Joe Sacco did in his 4 years here already (no joke). The Avs are now the 3rd team to 20 wins, joining Chicago and Pittsburgh.

Andre Benoit, John Mitchell, Max Talbot and Cory Sarich celebrate with P.A. Parenteau after his 2nd-period goal

Three Stars:
3. Nathan MacKinnon - MacKinnon scored his 6th goal of the season, the eventual game-winning goal (his 3rd GWG).
2. Kris Russell - The Flames defenseman had a goal and an assist in the game
1. Max Talbot - Talbot had his best game of the season tonight, scoring his 1st goal as an Avalanche and assisting on Parenteau's goal.

Play of the Game - Parenteau's goal gets it tonight, just a great play by Talbot to force the turnover and feed P.A. for the goal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_dFbB7vRbo

Game #28 - The Avs finish up their 3-game Canadian road trip in Vancouver with a game against the Canucks on Sunday night (@8PM ET)

The Avs celebrate a 3-2 win against the Flames

-Joel Forman - Colorado Avalanche News

Game #26 - Edmonton Oilers 8, Colorado Avalanche 2

Goals:
EDM - Taylor Hall (8) - from Philip Larsen (3:44 1ST)
EDM - Taylor Hall PPG (9) - from Justin Schultz and Jordan Eberle (17:42 1ST)
EDM - Ales Hemsky PPG (6) - from Ryan Smyth and Mark Arcobello (17:57 1ST) *GWG*
COL - Nick Holden (2) - from Matt Duchene (4:20 2ND)
COL - P.A. Parenteau (8) - from Gabriel Landeskog and Erik Johnson (9:28 2ND)
EDM - David Perron (12) - unassisted (12:06 2ND)
EDM - Mark Arcobello (3) - from Ales Hemsky and Ryan Smyth (8:55 3RD)
EDM - Jordan Eberle (10) - from Ryan Smyth and David Perron (15:18 3RD)
EDM - Sam Gagner (3) - from Taylor Hall (18:30 3RD)
EDM - Taylor Hall (10) - from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Corey Potter (19:49 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Devan Dubnyk (33 saves on 35 shots: 8-12-1) LG - Semyon Varlamov (20 saves on 28 shots: 13-7-0)

Its quite remarkable how the Avs have played so good against some of the best teams in the NHL, and yet get embarrased by the last-place Oilers. For some reason the last few years the Oilers have dominated the Avs, and tonight the Avs had their worst loss of the season losing 8-2. The Avs had a few bad breaks in the 1st, as Taylor Hall scored the first goal on a breakaway after the Avs just missed a scoring chance. Then the Avs lose Jan Hejda in an ugly collision with an Oilers player, who didn't return to the game. The Oilers would then score 2 powerplay goals (Hall and Hemsky) 15 seconds apart and would take a 3-0 lead to the intermission. The Avs came out playing better in the 2nd, and got goals from Holden and Parenteau to cut the lead to 3-2. That would be as close as the Avs would get, as David Perron made it 4-2 minutes later. The Oilers would then get 4 unanswered goals in the 3rd from Arcobello, Eberle, Gagner and Taylor Hall's hat trick. An ugly, ugly loss by the Avs, who seemed to be effected by the long break and didn't skate tonight. This looked like the Avs of the last few years, no compete from the team as a whole, tonight only Matt Duchene and Nathan MacKinnon seemed to be playing well. From a defensive standpoint, a horrible team effort tonight particularly from Nate Guenin and Tyson Barrie. With Hejda's injury looking serious, the Avs need to look for some help on D via trade. Hejda has been the most consistent Avs d-man this season, and the most important on the PK as well. The Avs are still 19-7, as much as this loss stings they have to comeback and play better tomorrow.

Three Stars
3. Devan Dubnyk - Dubnyk was a big reason the Oilers won this game, making 33 saves on 35 shots for the win.
2. Ryan Smyth - The former Av had 3 assists in the game.
1. Taylor Hall - Hall picked up a hat trick and added an assist in the win.

Play of the Game - Gotta give credit to Taylor Hall, his 2nd goal of the game was an absolute rocket past Varlamov.

Game #27 - The Avs need to regroup quickly, as they continue their Canadian road trip with a game against the Calgary Flames tomorrow night (@9PM ET)

-Joel Forman - Colorado Avalanche News

Game #25 - Colorado Avalanche 3, Minnesota Wild 2 (SO)

Nathan MacKinnon celebrates his 5th goal of the season with his teammates

Goals:
COL - Gabriel Landeskog (9) - from John Mitchell (2:22 1ST)
COL - Nathan MacKinnon (5) - from John Mitchell and Ryan O'Reilly (12:56 2ND)
MIN - Matt Cooke (4) - from Torrey Mitchell and Kyle Brodziak (16:33 3RD)
MIN - Mikko Koivu (6) - from Zach Parise and Kyle Brodziak (19:54 3RD)
Shootout winner - Ryan O'Reilly (COL)
Goalies:
WG - Semyon Varlamov (35 saves on 37 shots: 13-6-0) LG - Josh Harding (23 saves on 25 shots: 13-4-4)

The Avs defeated the Minnesota for the 2nd straight night, beating the Wild 3-2 in a shootout for a sweep of the double-header. After back-to-back games I can only say how great the competition level has been, both teams fight hard in a very exciting 2 games. It almost felt like a playoff atmosphere, there was lots of hate between the teams and it created 2 intense hockey games, the Avs were lucky enough to win both. Despite winning last night in Minnesota, Avs head coach Patrick Roy was not shy about changing his lines and made some big moves, partly due to the fact that Paul Stastny returned from injury. The Avs started Talbot with O'Reilly Duchene, Landeskog with MacKinnon and Mitchell, McGinn with Stastny and Parenteau. However by the 2nd period Roy made some changes, going with MacKinnon Duchene O'Reilly, Landeskog Stastny Parenteau, McGinn Mitchell Talbot. The Avs opened the scoring early in the 1st for the 2nd straight game, as Landeskog put a rebound past Harding for the 1-0 lead. The goal was set up by John Mitchell who caused a turnover behind the Wild net. The Avs would keep a 1-0 lead going into the intermission, a very fast-paced period as both teams had 11 shots. The Avs would then take a 2-0 lead in the 2nd, as Nathan MacKinnon converted on another John Mitchell-forced turnover, and made no mistake beating Harding high glove on a beautiful wrist shot. The 2nd straight game where both Landeskog and MacKinnon scored for the Avs. The score remained 2-0 after the 2nd, with shots 11-8 for the Wild in the 2nd and 22-19 overall. For most of the 3rd the play remained even, no team took many chances and the score stayed the same. With just under 4 minutes left the Wild got on the board, as a turnover at the Avs blueline lead to a Matt Cooke goal. The Wild would then tie the game with 6 seconds left, another bad turnover left Mikko Koivu wide open in the slot who beat Varly off the post and in. A tough last 4 minutes for the Avs, they watched a 2-goal lead disappear. The teams went to OT, both teams had their chances but no one could score a goal. The Avs were headed to their 1st shootout of the season: Parenteau missed, Parise missed, MacKinnon missed (1st career shootout) and Koivu missed. Ryan O'Reilly was up 3rd for the avs, who made a nifty move before sliding it five-hole past Harding. Varlamov would then make an ice glove save on Pominville to seal the win for the Avs, and they are now 19-6 on the season. Overall not the way they wanted to do it, but once again the important thing to take away is the Avs picked up 2 points.

Nathan MacKinnon celebrates his 2nd period goal

Three Stars:

3. Nathan MacKinnon - MacKinnon had a goal in his 2nd straight game, the 1st time in his NHL career he has done so.

2. Ryan O'Reilly - The player they call "The Factor" came up big tonight, scoring the shootout winner and assisting on MacKinon's goal. 

1. Semyon Varlamov - Varly was stellar tonight, he probably deserved a better outcome than the 2 late goals but he picked up the win making 35 save on 37 shots.

Play of the Game: Nathan MacKinnon's goal gets it tonight for the 2nd straight game, what a nifty wrist shot past Josh Harding: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ls3Qu3teuc

Game #26 - The Avs have 4 days off before they start off December with a 3-game Canadian road trip, starting in Edmonton with a game against the Oilers on Thursday night (@930PM ET)

-Joel Forman - Colorado Avalanche News

Game #24 - Colorado Avalanche 3, Minnesota Wild 1

Gabriel Landeskog, Jan Hejda, P.A. Parenteau and Erik Johnson celebrate with Nathan MacKinnon after his 2nd period goal (the eventual GWG)

Goals:
COL - Jan Hejda (3) - from Gabriel Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon (3:45 1ST)
COL - Nathan MacKinnon (4) - from Gabriel Landeskog and Erik Johnson (4:34 2ND)
MIN - Dany Heatley (6) - from Nino Niederreiter and Erik Haula (15:02 2ND)
COL - Gabriel Landeskog EN (8) - from Marc-Andre Cliche (19:40 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - J.S. Giguere (27 saves on 28 shots: 6-0-0) LG - Josh Harding (18 saves on 20 shots: 13-4-2)

J.S. Giguere became the 1st goalie in franchise history to start the season 6-0-0, as he lead the Avs to a 3-1 win over the Minnesota Wild tonight. The Avs were playing without Alex Tanguay and Paul Stastny, and then watched Cody McLeod get a 5-minute major and game misconduct for boarding late in the 1st and had to play with 11 forwards for 2 periods. The 36-year old Giguere looks completely rejuvenated this season for the Avs, and he was brilliant tonight making 27 saves on 28 shots. The Avs opened the scoring in the 1st, as a point shot by Jan Hejda made its way past Josh Harding. The Avs lead 1-0 after the 1st, as shots were 8-6 in their favour. Cody McLeod picked up his boarding major at 17:24 in the 1st, so the Avs killed off 2:36 of the penalty in the 1st and the rest to start the 2nd. It was an impressive 5-minute kill for the Avs, and they were able to build off that. Nathan MacKinnon tipped home a Landeskog shot for his 4th goal of the season, just minutes after the 5-minute kill. The Wild would get one back with 5 minutes left in the 2nd, as Dany Heatley put home a pass from Nino Niederreiter, no chance for Giguere. The Avs took a 2-1 lead into the intermission, as shots were 8-6 in the 2nd and 16-12 overall. In the 3rd the Avs looked to take a 3-1 lead, as a rush by Nathan MacKinnon was stopped by Harding but Landeskog put home the rebound. However, the refs ruled that it was goalie interference and called the goal off. This was one of the worst calls I have ever seen, way too often are NHL refs making the wrong call on goalie interference and this was a perfect example. If you see the replay MacKinnon is shoved into Harding by the Wild defenseman, which is NOT goalie interference. Goalie interference is when a player interferes with the goalie ON HIS OWN POWER, and this was clearly not the case, just a horrible call by the ref. From that point on the Wild really picked up the pace, the Avs sat back and defended the lead and were lucky to keep it. J.S. Giguere made some big saves down the stretch, and Landeskog would get his deserved goal scoring the empty netter. The Avs would hold on for a 3-1 win, despite being outshot 16-5 in the 3rd and 28-21 overall. A big game from the Landeskog-MacKinnon-Parenteau line, which generated all 3 of the Avs goals. Overall not the best performance of the season, but all that matters is the all-important 2 points that the Avs got. The teams will meet tomorrow night in Denver for the 2nd of a double-header.

Both benches look on after a scrum ensues from the Cody McLeod hit on Jonas Brodin

Three Stars:

3. J.S. Giguere - Jiggy made 27 saves on 28 shots in the win, improving to 6-0-0 on the season.

2. Nathan MacKinnon - MacKinnon picked up his 4th goal of the season and added an assist, as well as his goal was the game-winner (2nd career GWG).

1. Gabriel Landeskog - The Avs captain was the best player on the ice tonight, scoring 1 goal and adding 2 assists.

Play of the Game - MacKinnon's goal gets it tonight, great hand-eye coordination by MacKinnon to tip the shot past Harding.

Game #25 - The Avs and Wild will meet in Denver for the 2nd game of a double-header tomorrow night (@9PM ET)

Nathan MacKinnon and Nino Niederreiter get into a post-whistle scrum late in the 2nd period

-Joel Forman - Colorado Avalanche News

Game #23 - St. Louis Blues 4, Colorado Avalanche 1

Goals:
STL - David Backes (11) - from T.J. Oshie and Jay Bouwmeester (2:46 1ST)
STL - Alexander Steen PPG (20) - from David Backes and Derek Roy (6:10 1ST)
COL - Patrick Bordeleau (3) - from Jan Hejda and Brad Malone (8:24 1ST)
STL - Jaden Schwartz SHG (5) - unassisted (18:12 1ST)
STL - Chris Stewart EN (5) - from Derek Roy and Patrik Berglund (18:16 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Jaroslav Halak (25 saves on 26 shots: 14-3-2) LG - Semyon Varlamov (31 saves on 34 shots: 12-6-0)

The Avs have played the Blues twice this season, and both times have been outmatched by the bigger team from St. Louis. The Avs have now lost 7-3 and 4-1 to the Blues, 2 ugly losses. Tonight they were without Paul Stastny (back spasms) and Alex Tanguay (knee injury), even though Matt Duchene returned from injury they definitely missed the other 2 guys. The Avs were once again dominated by the Blues top line of Alex Steen David Backes and T.J. Oshie, who scored the games 1st and 2nd goal (Steen's being the eventual GWG). I missed most of the game as I was at work, but upon watching 3rd period and the game highlights it was obvious that the Blues deserved to win this one. The Blues outshot the Avs 34-26, went 1/1 on their only PP and killed off all 4 of the Avs PPs. The Blues also blocked 22 shots to the Avs 11, and had 12 takeaways to the Avs 4. A positive for the Avs was they outhit the Blues 35-23, including a game-high 8 hits from Gabe Landeskog.

Three Stars:
3. Jaroslav Halak - Halak made 25 saves in the win
2. Alexander Steen - Steen continued to score against the Avs, with his 20th goal of the season and the eventual game-winner tonight
1. David Backes - The Blues Captain had 1 goal and 1 assist in the win

Game #24 - The Avs play the 1st game of a home-and-away against the Minnesota Wild in Minnesota on Friday night (@6PM ET)

-Joel Forman - Colorado Avalanche News

Game #22 - Colorado Avalanche 1, Los Angeles Kings 0

Avs F John Mitchell celebrates with Jamie McGinn after his OT goal

Goals:
COL - Jamie McGinn (4) - from John Mitchell and Jan Hejda (2:31 OT)
Goalies:
WG - Semyon Varlamov (19 saves on 19 shots: 12-5-0) LG - Ben Scrivens (32 saves on 33 shots: 5-1-3)

Why not us? The Avs continue to show the NHL they are a different team under Patrick Roy, different players stepping up each night. Tonight was their best game of the 2013-14 season thus far, a thrilling 1-0 OT win over the Los Angeles Kings that ended with Jamie McGinn scoring the lone goal at 2:31 of the OT period. The Avs outshot the Kings 33-19, which is very impressive on its own but even more so considering 2 of the Avs top 6 forwards (Matt Duchene and Alex Tanguay) are injured. The Avs improved to 17-5 on the season, and 3-0 since losing Matt Duchene (who is likely to return next game). If one thing has been clear about Patrick Roy its how much he cares about the team, the guy is a team-first Coach and always was when he was the Avs goalie. The Avs have had many defensive issues in the post-lockout NHL era, especially in the 4 previous seasons under Joe Sacco. 22-games into Roy's coaching career one thing is obvious: the Avs players have bought into his system and his influence on the goaltending/defense has been a huge factor in the success of the team. Tonight was a very physical game, as their were a combined 74 hits in the game. The Avs blocked 15 shots compared to the Kings 6, a great defensive game. The Avs keep on rolling, and hopefully will have Matt Duchene back next game

The Avs celebrate Jamie Mcginn's OT goal

Three Stars:
3. Jamie McGinn - Ginner scored the only goal in the game at 2:31 of the OT period
2. Ben Scrivens - Scrivens was spectacular all night, making 32 saves on 33 shots including 16 saves in the 2nd period
1. Semyon Varlamov - Varly picked up his 1st shutout of the season making 19 saves in the win

Play of the Game - McGinn's goal gets it tonight, a great play by John Mitchell to set the goal up.

Game #23 - The Avs now have 3 days off until they play on Wednesday in Denver. The Avs will have a tough and heated game against the St. Louis Blues (@9PM ET)

-Joel Forman - Colorado Avalanche News

Game #21 - Colorado Avalanch 4, Phoenix Coyotes 3 (OT)

Andre Benoit, P.A. Parenteau and Paul Stastny celebrate with Ryan O'Reilly after his OT goal

Goals:
COL - John Mitchell PPG (4) - from Nathan MacKinnon and P.A. Parenteau (0:32 2ND)
COL - Andre Benoit (1) - unassisted (15:50 2ND)
PHX - Michael Stone (7) - from Kyle Chipchura and Paul Bissonnette (17:10 2ND)
PHX - Martin Hanzal (7) - from Tim Kennedy and Rostislav Klesla (10:40 3RD)
PHX - Antoine Vermette PPG (6) - from Shane Doan and Keith Yandle (14:06 3RD)
COL - Cody McLeod (2) -  from Andre Benoit and John Mitchell (16:46 3RD)
COL - Ryan O'Reilly (9) - PPG - from P.A. Parenteau and Andre Benoit (4:18 OT)
Goalies:
WG - Semyon Varlamov (41 saves on 44 shots: 11-5-0) LG - Mike Smith (26 saves on 30 shots: 12-3-4)

The Avs faced some adversity tonight as they gave up a 2 goal lead and found themselves down 1 with 4 minutes left in the 3rd. The Result? A late goal by Cody McLeod and an OT goal by Ryan O'Reilly sent the Avs to a 4-3 win over the Phoenix Coyotes, as they improved to 2-0 without Matt Duchene and 16-5-0 on the season. Once again the Avs were heavily outshot but found a way to win the game, as Semyon Varlamov was stellar once again tonight. The score remained 0-0 after the 1st, as the Coyotes outshot the Avs 15-8 in the period. An early penatly by Michael Stone sent the Avs to the PP, and John Mitchell scored his 4th goal of the season 32 seconds into the 2nd. The Avs would make it 2-0 with late in the 3rd, as Andre Benoit scored his 1st goal as an Avalanche. However the Coyotes would get one back minutes later, as a dump in by Michael Stone fooled Varlamov (a goal he will want back). The Avs lead 2-1 after the 2nd, shots were 13-11 in the 2nd and 28-19 in the game. The Coyotes would then have 2 goals called back in the first 5 minutes of the 3rd, as a goal from the Coyotes was waived off because the whistle blew and minutes later a goal from Oliver Ekman-Larsson was waived off as Moss was in the crease and interfering with Varlamov. However the Coyotes continued to press and would tie the game around midpoint of the 3rd, as Martin Hanzal picked up a rebound and beat Varlamov high. The Coyotes would then take the lead on the PP 4 minutes later, as a weird bounce off the back boards landed right on Antoine Vermette's stick who made no mistake beating a sprawling Varlamov. The Avs had suddenly given up 3 straight goals and trailed for the first time in the game, they had 6 minutes left to tie the game. Now under Coach Joe Sacco the Avs would have probably lost this game, watched the Coyotes shut them down and then ice it in the empty net. But this is a different team under Patrick Roy, and you could see it the first shift after the Coyotes took the lead the Avs picked up the pace. With just over 3 minutes left, Avs tough guy Cody McLeod beat Smith on a rebound, his 2nd goal in as many games. The Avs would get a PP going into OT but couldn't beat Mike Smith, however they were lucky enough to get a 2nd PP with 1:35 left and this time the Avs capitalized. After a nice play by P.A. Parenteau to control the puck and draw 2 Coyotes towards him, he made a nifty pass to O'Reilly who faked a slapshot and beat Smith with a perfect shot to give the Avs the win. The Avs found a way to win despite being outshot 44-30, when the game was on the line they turned it up to tie and then win the game (shots were 5-2 for the Avs in OT). The Coyotes may be angry after this one, 2 overturned goals and 2 penalties in OT, but the result is still 2 points for the Avs. Another character win by the Avs, a true example of how well Roy has the team playing as a TEAM and not INDIVIDUALS. The Avs are now 14-0 when scoring 1st, and 2-0 in games going to OT.

Avs D Jan Hejda celebrates with G Semyon Varlamov after the Avs 4-3 win

Three Stars:

3. Ryan O'Reilly - O'Reilly scored his 9th goal of the season in OT give the Avs the 4-3 win

2. Andre Benoit - Benoit had his best game as an Avalanche, scoring his 1st goal and adding 2 assists

1. Semyon Varlamov - Varly was strong all night, despite allowing 3 goals he made 41 saves on 44 shots as the Avs were heavily outshot all night

Play of the Game - O'Reilly's OT goal gets it tonight, a great setup by Parenteau and a better finish by the guy who's nickname is "The Factor"

Game #22 - The Avs play the 2nd game of a 2-game road trip in Los Angeles on Saturday night (@1030PM ET)

Gabriel Landeskog, Ryan O'Reilly and Nathan MacKinnon celebrate with Andre Benoit after his 1st goal as an Avalanche

-Joel Forman - Colorado Avalanche News

Game #20 - Colorado Avalanche 5, Chicago Blackhawks 1

Paul Stastny celebrates his 1st period goal

Goals:
COL - Paul Stastny (8) - unassisted (6:37 1ST)
COL - Gabriel Landeskog (7) - from Andre Benoit and Ryan O'Reilly (12:21 1ST)
COL - John Mitchell (3) - from Max Talbot and Tyson Barrie (13:17 1ST)
COL - P.A. Parenteau (7) - from Paul Stastny and Jan Hejda (18:38 2ND)
COL - Cody McLeod (1) - from Tyson Barrie and Max Talbot (1:44 3RD)
CHI - Brandon Saad (6) - from Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith (12:10 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Semyon Varlamov (36 saves on 37 shots: 10-5-0) LG - Corey Crawford (4 saves on 7 shots: 13-4-3), Antti Raanta (14 saves on 16 shots in relief of Crawford)

Missing their superstar Matt Duchene the Avs went out and had their best team effort of the season, defeating the defending Stanley Cup Champ Chicago Blackhawks 5-1. The Avs came in with a 3-game losing streak and right off the bat looked to end it, as Paul Stastny opened the scoring after a bad turnover by Brent Seabrook. The Avs would make it 2-0 around the midpoint of the 1st, as Landeskog tipped home and Andre Benoit blast past Crawford. The Avs would then make it 3-0 a minute later, as John Mitchell converted a great pass from Max Talbot past Corey Crawford. Crawford was done for the night after allowing 3 goals on 7 shots, one of his worst performance of the season. The Avs took a 3-0 lead into the intermission despite being outshot 17-8 in the period. The 2nd was much more even of a period, as both Varlamov and Hawks backup Antti Raanta made some big saves. However the Avs made it 4-0 late in the 2nd, as P.A. Parenteau scored his 7th goal of the season. The Avs would make it 5-0 early in the 2nd, as tough-guy Cody McLeod put home a rebound off a Tyson Barrie shot. The Hawks would break Varlamov's shutout late in the 3rd, as Brandon Saad scored on a rebound. Overall a great team effort from the Avs, while they were outshot 37-23 they played very strong in front of Varlamov blocking 15 shots. One of the best performances of the season by Varlamov, who made 36 saves on 37 shots for the win. Tyson Barrie had an extremely strong game tonight, playing in his 1st game since being re-called he was aggressive and jumping up into the play all game. Max Talbot also had his best game as an Avalanche, picking up 2 assists for his 1st 2 points as an Av. This was the 1st of 5 meetings between the new division rivals, and the Avs really picked up the intensity that was lacking during the losing streak. Considering the Avs were missing Duchene this was a great performance by the Avs forwards scoring 5 goals on one of the best teams in the league. Overall a great team win by the Avs, who are back in the win column and stand at 15-5-0 on the season.

Avs F P.A. Parenteau scores his 7th goal of the season

Three Stars:
3. Tyson Barrie - Barrie picked up 2 assists in his 1st game since being recalled, a great performance by the young defenseman.
2. Paul Stastny - Stastny picked up his 8th goal of the season to open the scoring, and added an assist on Parenteau's goal in the 2nd.
1. Semyon Varlamov - Despite the Avs scoring 5 goals tonight, Varlamov was the best Av on the ice as the Hawks outshot the Avs 37-23. Varlamov is now 10-5-0 on the season.

Play of the Game - John Mitchell's goal gets it tonight, just a great pass by Max Talbot to set up Mitchell for the goal.

Game #21 - The Avs head out on a 2-game road trip starting with a game against the Phoenix Coyotes on Thursday night (@9PM ET)

-Joel Forman - Colorado Avalanche News

Game #19 - Florida Panthers 4, Colorado Avalanche 1

Goals:
FLA - Brad Boyes (7) - from Scottie Upshall and Tom Gilbert (12:40 1ST)
FLA - Brian Campbell PPG (3) - from Tom Gilbert and Scottie Upshall (1:15 2ND)
COL - Ryan O'Reilly (8) - from P.A. Parenteau and Cory Sarich (7:23 2ND)
FLA - Tomas Kopecky (2) - from Tom Gilbert and Tim Thomas (13:53 2ND)
FLA - Jonathan Huberdeau (5) - from Nick Bjugstad and Brian Campbell (12:16 3RD)
WG - Tim Thomas (32 saves on 33 shots: 4-6-0) LG - Semyon Varlamov (29 saves on 33 shots: 9-5-0)
Three Stars:

Not a lot to comment about this game, didn't watch until the 3rd period but it seems like this was the worst performance of the season. Suddenly the Avs have cooled down really fast, losing 3 straight games getting outscored 13-5. Even worse star C Matt Duchene was injured in the 3rd and didn't return. Duchene has been diagnosed with an oblique injury, the Avs haven't said much else but we will know more tomorrow. Bottom line: The Avs need Duchene for every game, even missing 1 game would hurt this team not to mention if it was a more serious injury.

Three Stars:
3. Tim Thomas - Thomas made 32 saves on 33 shots for the win, and picked up an assist as well
2. Brian Campbell - Campbell scored 1 goal (eventual GWG) and added an assist
1. Tom Gilbert - Gilbert had 3 assists for the Panthers

Game #20 - The Avs look to end their losing streak as they play the Chicago Blackhawks at home on Tuesday night (9PM ET) -

Joel Forman - Colorado Avalanche News

Game #18 - St. Louis Blues 7, Colorado Avalanche 3

Goals:
STL - Derek Roy PPG (5) - from T.J. Oshie and Alex Pietrangelo (1:54 1ST)
COL - Nathan MacKinnon PPG (3) - from Paul Stastny and Gabriel Landeskog (5:30 1ST)
STL - David Backes PPG (7) - from T.J. Oshie and Derek Roy (2:49 2ND)
STL - Alex Steen (15) - from David Backes and T.J. Oshie (7:16 2ND)
STL - Vladimir Tarasenko (6) - from Patrik Berglund (12:09 2ND)
STL - Chis Stewart PPG (3) - from Kevin Shattenkirk and Derek Roy (14:39 2ND)
STL - Alex Steen (16) - from David Backes and T.J. Oshie (2:11 3RD)
COL - Matt Duchene (12) - from Nate Guenin and Ryan O'Reilly (4:36 3RD)
STL - Jay Bouwmeester (1) - from Vladimir Tarasenko and Alex Pietrangelo (8:36 3RD)
COL - Ryan O'Reilly (7) - from Jamie McGinn and Nick Holden (11:06 3RD)
WG - Jaroslav Halak (21 saves on 24 shots) LG - Semyon Varlamov (4 saves on 6 shots in relief of Giguere who made 18 saves on 23 shots. Varlamov replaced Giguere in the 2nd, who was then replaced by Giguere to start the 3rd)

The Avs were off to a good start in this game, it was 1-1 heading into the 2nd and they finished the 1st strong. That all changed in a 4-goal 2nd period for the Blues, which lead to a 7-3 rout of the Avs. The first game of the season where the Avs had bad goaltending, not to mention by far the worst game defensively for the Avs this season. There isn't much to analyze in this game, the Blues physically dominated the Avs in every aspect whether that was scoring goals, fighting or hitting. The Blues are one of the biggest teams in the NHL, and it showed tonight as they dominated in front of the net. The Blues got goals from Steen (2), Roy, Backes, Tarasenko, Stewart and Bouwmeester while the Avs got goals from MacKinnon, Duchene and O'Reilly. J.S. Giguere stays undefeated at 5-0-0 because Varlamov was in net for the 4th Blues goal (the GWG). However Giguere still let in 5 goals on 23 shots, as he was pulled in the 2nd and returned to the net to start the 3rd. This marks the first 2-game losing streak for the Avs, however they are still 14-4-0 and it is not time to panic. Defensively the Avs were all over the place tonight, they let the Blues push them around and they were out of place on several of the Blues goals. One thing I really disliked was Chris Stewart: after Sarich took a clean run at him, he dropped the gloves and just pummeled Sarich who didn't really want to fight. Not only did Sarich not return for the 3rd, but Stewart but his arms up to the crowd saying "lets go" even though the Blues were up 5-1 at the time. A really classless play by Stewart, the former Av, to rub it in when there was no reason to. There were 3 fights on the night: Stewart and Sarich, Matt Duchene dropped the gloves for the 2nd time of his career against Vladimir Sobotka (who he fought the 1st time as well), and McLeod and Reaves. Overall the worst performance of the season by far, nothing you can do but move on from this one (the teams meet again November 27th)

Three Stars:
3. Alex Steen - Steen scored his NHL-leading 15th and 16th goals of the season
2. David Backes - The Blues captain was all over the net tonight, scoring 1 goal and adding 2 assists
1. T.J. Oshie - Oshie was the best player on the ice tonight, picking up 4 assists

Play of the Game - One of the lone bright spots for the Avs tonight was Matt Duchene's goal, nifty move to deke out Bouwmeester and a good finish

Game #19 - The Avs look to avoid their 1st 3-game losing streak as they head home for a game against the Florida Panthers on Saturday night (@9PM ET)

-Joel Forman - Colorado Avalanche News

Game #17 - Carolina Hurricanes 2, Colorado Avalanche 1

Goals:
CAR - Jordan Staal (3) - from Nathan Gerbe and Patrick Dwyer (12:47 1ST)
CAR - Patrick Dwyer (1) - from Nathan Gerbe and Jordan Staal (0:26 2ND)
COL - Paul Stastny PPG (7) - from Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog (14:34 2ND)
WG - Justin Peters (33 saves on 34 shots: 3-5-1) LG - Semyon Varlamov (26 saves on 28 shots: 9-3-0)

The Avs suffered their 1st road loss of the season, losing 2-1 to the Carolina Hurricanes. I missed the 1st period and most of the 2nd period, so I missed the Avs being outplayed by the Canes until late in the 2nd. The Avs really turned it on at the end of the 2nd and in the 3rd period, but couldn't tie the game. The Canes opened the scoring in the 1st, as Jordan Staal picked up a rebound and beat Varlamov on the backhand. The Canes would take a 1-0 lead into the 2nd, outshooting the Avs 11-5. The Canes would go up 2-0 seconds into the 2nd period, as Patrick Dwyer converted a nice pass from Nathan Gerbe and made no mistake beating Varly. The Avs would then get 1 back on the PP, as Paul Stastny jumped on a MacKinnon rebound and beat Peters. The Avs would outshoot the Canes 19-12 in the 2nd, and 24-23 after 2 periods. The Canes shut down the neutral zone in the 3rd, while the Avs had their chances they couldn't beat Peters. Overall not the Avs best performance of the season, but despite the loss they had a great 3rd period. The Avs aren't going to win every game, but this loss hurts because they had the chances to win the game.

Three Stars:
3. Justin Peters - Peters made 33 saves on 34 shots for the win.
2. Nathan MacKinnon - MacKinnon was by far the best Av on the ice tonight, picking up an assist on Stastny's goal and putting 9 shots on net.
1. Jordan Staal (1 goal, 1 assist) - Carolina

Game #18 - The Avs look to rebound on the road as they play the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night (@8PM ET)

-Joel Forman - Colorado Avalanche News

Game #16 - Colorado Avalanche 4, Washington Capitals 1

Avs D Nick Holden celebrates his 1st NHL goal

Goals:
COL - Patrick Bordeleau (2) - from Cody McLeod and Marc-Andre Cliche (2:50 1ST)
WSH - Joel Ward (8) - from Mikhail Grabovski (15:48 2ND)
COL - Nick Holden (1) - from Gabriel Landeskog and Paul Stastny (16:16 2ND)
COL - P.A. Parenteau (6) - from Matt Duchene and Erik Johnson (8:12 3RD)
COL - Gabriel Landeskog (6) - from Erik Johnson (18:20 3RD)
WG - Semyon Varlamov (33 saves on 34 shots: 9-2-0) LG - Braden Holtby (33 saves on 37 shots: 7-6-0)

The Avalanche continue to play strong as a team, as each game someone different is stepping up and making big plays, tonight it was Bordeleau and Nick Holden (1st NHL goal). As Roy said in the postgame conference, "Everybody brings something special to our team right now, and its teamwork. It's the reason why we are where we are." Under Joe Sacco the Avs played as individuals, but the second that Roy took over he stressed the importance of playing as a team, and for the team and you can see how much the players are responding to that. The Avs played awful defense in the 4 years Sacco was coach, but now you watch the Avs play and they play hard defensively every single shift. The biggest result of this is the Avs PK, which went 4-4 against the NHL's best PP (including an extended 5-on-3). The Avs currently have the NHLs 3rd best PK, killing off 88.5%. On to the game; the Avs got the opening goal from an unlikely source, as Patrick Bordeleau tipped home a Cody McLeod backhand to put the Avs up 1-0 just 3 minutes in. The Avs dominated the 1st period, outshooting the Caps 12-4 and taking a 1-0 lead in the 2nd. Both teams opened up in the 2nd period, as each time pilled on the shots and both Varlamov and Holtby were up to the task. Late in the period the Caps tied the game at 1-1, as a funny bounce off the back-boards after a faceoff win by the Avs came right to Joel Ward infront, who deked past Varly and made no mistake. However, the Avs responded 28 seconds later, as a nice play by Landeskog behind the net set up Nick Holden for his 1st NHL goal and 1st as an Avalanche (man was he excited in his postgame presser). The Avs would take a 2-1 lead into the 3rd, shots were 16-16 in the 2nd and 28-20 after 2. The Avs started in the 3rd by taking 2 back-to-back penalties, leaving the NHLs best PP on a 5-on-3 for 56 seconds. The Avs were able to kill off both penalties thanks to some great work by Semyon Varlamov in net, and Jan Hejda/Erik Johnson on D. After the PP, the Caps appeared to tie the game at 2-2 when Ovechkin scored, but it was ruled that he kicked the puck in and it didn't count. Just seconds after the no goal, the Duchene line went the other way and a nifty few moves by Duchene behind the net set up Parenteau for his 6th goal of the season. Landeskog would ice the game with a nifty goal late in the 3rd, beating Ovechkin with speed around the outside (just dodging a hip-check) and blasting one past Holtby for his 6th goal. The Avs improve to 14-2-0 under Patrick Roy, a phenomenal start.

Avs tough guy Patrick Bordeleau celebrates his 1st period goal

Three Stars:
3. Gabriel Landeskog - The Captain had another strong game, scoring 1 goal and adding an assist on the GWG. Landeskog is playing some intense hockey of late, really leading by example
2. Nick Holden - What a great story for the Avs, Holden draws into the lineup after Ryan Wilson was hurt 2 games ago and he scores his 1st NHL goal, which also was the GWG.
1. Semyon Varlamov - Varly continued to prove his old team wrong after trading him to the Avs, as he made 33 saves on 34 shots for the win. Varlamov is now 2-0 this season against his former team, and the Avs have outscored the Caps 9-2.

Play of the Game - The Avs 2nd, 3rd and 4th goals are all equally deserving of the play of the game tonight for different reasons. Holden's goal gets it because it was his 1st NHL goal, Parenteau's was a great play and setup by Duchene, and Landeskog's goal was just a great individual effort

Game #17 - The Avs head out on a 2-game road trip starting with a matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night (@7PM ET)

Avs celebrate with G Semyon Varlamov after their 4-1 win over the Capitals

-Joel Forman - Colorado Avalanche News

Game #15 - Colorado Avalanche 4, Calgary Flames 2

Duchene scores his 11th goal of the season into the empty-net

Goals:
COL - Ryan O'Reilly (6) - from P.A. Parenteau and Jan Hejda (5:31 1ST)
COL - Paul Stastny PPG (6) - from Erik Johnson and Andre Benoit (1:09 2ND)
CGY - Mike Cammalleri (6) - from Mikael Backlund and Jiri Hudler (6:07 2ND)
COL - John Mitchell (2) - from Nathan MacKinnon and Cory Sarich (7:16 2ND)
CGY - Mike Cammalleri (7) - from Jiri Hudler and Mikael Backlund (9:46 2ND)
COL - Matt Duchene EN (11) - from Ryan O'Reilly (19:57 3RD)
WG - J.S. Giguere (30 saves on 32 shots) LG - Karri Ramo (23 saves on 26 shots)

In their first meeting since switching out of each other's business, the Avs got things done on home ice against the Flames improving to 13-2-0 on the season after a 4-2 win. The Avs were lead again by the solid goaltending of J.S. Giguere, who improved to 5-0 on the season after tonight. The Avs opening the scoring tonight after another great rush by Matt Duchene, who also scored an identical goal from 2 nights ago against Nashville but was stopped at the last second. The Avs retrieved the puck and Parenteau fed O'Reilly right in the slot who made no mistake past Karri Ramo. The score remained 1-0 after the 1st, shots 8-8. The Avs would then double their lead on the PP, as Paul Stastny converted on a bank off the back boards and past Ramo. The Flames would cut the lead in half, as some nice passing lead to Mike Cammalleri beating Gigere with a nice shot. The Avs would regain their 2-goal lead a minute later, as a nice pass by Nathan MacKinnon set up John Mitchell who beat Ramo with a nifty wrist shot. However the Flames would respond a few minutes later, as Cammalleri scored his 2nd of the game. The Avs carried a 3-2 lead into the 3rd period, and both teams would have some golden chances to get the next goal. Matt Duchene sealed it into the empty net with a great effort, shooting it while lying on the ice, his 11th goal of the season. The Avs played a very calm, defensive game tonight and besides a few miscues on the Flames goals they played well. The Avs seem to play harder defensively in front of Giguere, and its a big reason he remains undefeated this season. The Avs have yet to lose back to back games this season, and stand at 13-2-0.

John Mitchell celebrates the eventual game-winning goal

Three Stars:
3. John Mitchell - Mitchell picked up a big goal for the Avs, his 2nd of the season which would end up being the game winning goal.
2. Mike Cammalleri - Cammalleri scored both Flames goals, he now has 7 on the season.
1. J.S. Giguere - Giguere made 30 saves on 32 shots for the victory, his 5th straight this season.

Play of the Game - Mitchell's goal gets it tonight, a great setup by Nathan MacKinnon and an even better finish by Mitchell. Honourable mention to Duchene for his effort on the empty-nettter.

Game #16 - The Avs wrap-up their 4-game homestand with a meeting with the Washington Capitals on Sunday night (@8PM ET)

A cool shot of Avs forward P.A. Parenteau in warmup

-Joel Forman - Colorado Avalanche News

Game #14 - Nashville Predators 6, Colorado Avalanche 4

Goals:
NSH - Viktor Stalberg (1) - from Colin Wilson and Mattias Ekholm (13:12 1ST)
COL - P.A. Parenteau (5) - from Matt Duchene (15:23 1ST)
NSH - Craig Smith PPG (3) - from Colin Wilson and Ryan Ellis (19:04 1ST)
COL - Ryan O'Reilly (5) - from P.A. Parenteau and Matt Duchene (2:15 2ND)
NSH - Paul Gaustad (3) - from Filip Forsberg (3:14 2ND)
NSH - Colin Wilson PPG (2) - from Ryan Ellis and Roman Josi (6:47 2ND)
COL - Paul Stastny (5) - from Jamie McGinn (13:37 2ND)
COL - Matt Duchene (10) - from Cody McLeod and Cory Sarich (4:23 3RD)
NSH - Colin Wilson (3) - from Viktor Stalberg and David Legwand (7:34 3RD)
NSH - Gabriel Bourque EN (1) - from David Legwand (19:42 3RD)
WG - Carter Hutton (27 saves on 31 shots) LG - Semyon Varlamov (22 saves on 27 shots)

The Avs can't win them all, but this one hurt as the Avs had a chance to win the game but cost themselves with way too many turnovers tonight. A game between 2 defensive teams usually are low scoring, but that wasn't the case as 10 goals were scored tonight. The Avs let in the most goals they have in a game all season, and drop to 12-2-0 with the loss. Stalberg got the scoring started in the 1st, as a turnover by Ryan Wilson lead to Stalberg beating Varly. Parenteau would tie it for the Avs, as a nice indiviudal effort by Duchene set up Parenteau with an open net. Craig Smith would make it 2-1 late in the period, another bad turnover by Wilson lead to the goal by Smith. The Avs would tie it early in the 2nd, as Ryan O'Reilly beat Carter Hutton to make it 2-2. The Predators would get 2 straight goals after that, as Paul Gaustad tipped a puck past Varlamov and then Colin Wilson scored on the PP. Paul Stastny would cut the lead to 4-3 tipping home a Jamie McGinn pass. The Avs would go into the 3rd down 4-3, but another highlight reel goal by Duchene would tie the game. Duchene has had so many highlight-reel goals in his career, and a bunch already this season, but this goal was one of his best. The Predators would take the lead on a sloppy turnover by P.A. Parenteau, as Colin Wilson got his 2nd goal of the game. Gabriel Bourque would put it away in the empty net, 6-4 final. Even thought it was a sloppy performance by the Avs, give them credit for hanging around in this game. Landeskog hit the crossbar with 5 minutes left, could have been 5-5. The Avs have played well defensively all season up until tonight, and they seemed out of sync all night in that aspect. Semyon Varlamov also had his first bad game of the season, he seemed shaky from the start and wasn't getting square to the shooter as quickly as he has in the past few games. The Avs have now started the season with a 6-game winning streak, followed by a loss, followed by another 6-game winning streak and followed by a loss.

Three Stars:
3. Viktor Stalberg - Stalberg got his 1st 2 points as a Nashville Predator, picking up a goal and an assist
2. Matt Duchene - Duchene was the best Avalanche on the ice tonight, scoring his 10th of the season and adding 2 assists.
1. Colin Wilson - Wilson had a monster game for the Preds, scoring 2 goals and adding 2 assists, as well as the GWG.

Play of the Game - Matt Duchene's goal gets it tonight, another TSN HON candidate for sure.

Game #15 - The Avs look to get back on track with the 3rd game of this 4-game home-stand as they play the Calgary Flames in Denver on Friday night (@9PM ET)

-Joel Forman - Colorado Avalanche News