Game #34 - Colorado 1, Nashville 0 (OT)

Avs F Matt Duchene celebrates with D Tyson Barrie after his OT winner

The Avs have had a hard time of late, winning only 2 of their last 10 games (including 2 4-game losing streaks) and really playing a bad stretch of hockey in March. However, a stellar performance from Semyon Varlamov lead the way today, and the Avs won their 2nd 1-0 game of the season after Tyson Barrie got the OT winner (David Jones scored in OT to win 1-0 vs. the Blues for the other). The Avs still sit at 15th in the West at 28 points, 8 points out of the 8th playoff spot. While it certainly is doable, the bad stretch of games has put the Avs into prime position for a top 3 pick in the draft, and as much as I can't cheer for them to lose as a die-hard fan at this point id rather them go for the draft pick then try to make the playoffs and miss them while also getting a worse pick. This game was very similar to the one vs. St. Louis, with Varlamov bailing out his team with several big saves and neither team being able to score. The Avs headed to OT with some momentum, and in the extra session just 50 seconds in Tyson Barrie converted on a rebound off Greg Zanon's point shot (first decent shot Zanon has hit the net with all season??) past Rinne for the winner (only his 2nd NHL goal, both vs the Preds). Besides Varlamov, another big positive for the Avs was the PK, going 6/6 tonight and really doing a great job. The stats in the game were as follows: The Predators outshot the Avs 34-24, the Avs won 31 of 57 faceoffs, The Avs outhit them 15-7 and the shotblocks were 18-17 for the Avs (Jan Hejda a game high 6).

Three Stars:
3. Pekka Rinne - Rinne wasn't the busiest goalie in the game, but he made some big saves including one on Matt Duchene on a 2 on 1 at the end of the 1st. Rinne made 23 saves on 24 shots in the loss
2. Tyson Barrie - Barrie scored the OT goal in the game, which also happened to be the only goal. Besides the goal, Barrie was active and effective at both ends of the ice
1. Semyon Varlamov - By far the best player on the ice for either team, Varlamov stood on his head today and stole the game. He made 34 saves for his 3rd shutout of the season

Avalanche Play of the Game - Barrie's OT goal gets it tonight, all set up by the offensive work of Matt Duchene and PA Parenteau on the 4-on-4

Avalanche Misplay of the Game - Defensive coverage infront of Varlamov was just brutal today, as was the case most games this season. The Avs defence allow players too much room near the net, and Varlamov bailed them out today more then 5 times. In particular Hunwick O'Byrne and Zanon are all brutal in the defensive zone

Game #35 - The Avs head on the road for back-to-back games, the first against the Detroit Red Wings on Monday night (@730pm)

-Joel Forman - Colorado Avalanche News