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| Avs D Nick Holden celebrates his 1st NHL goal |
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.
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| Avs tough guy Patrick Bordeleau celebrates his 1st period goal |
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)
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| Avs celebrate with G Semyon Varlamov after their 4-1 win over the Capitals |
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