In a high scoring western conference tilt with the Dallas Stars, they avs came up short losing in OT - a tough one to swallow after dominating OT before allowing the goal. Coach Sacco finally gave Duchene the linemates he needed, and man oh man did he respond tonight recording his first career hatrick and picking up an assist for a 4-point night. Duchene skated on the LW with Paul Stastny and Milan Hejduk, and the best three forwards on the avs didn't disappoint providing 4 of the avs 6 goals. If this game was a sign for Joe Sacco, he needs to keep this line together as it showed what having good linemates can do for Duchene. Duchene only had 2 goals and 4 assists before this game, but he broke out in style recording his first career hatrick, and I believe this will come as a huge confidence boost for the 20-year old despite the loss. Simply put, the avs D and goaltending were awful tonight, as they were allowing too much traffic to get in front of Varlamov and he had a hard time seeing several of the Stars goals. The avs gave up three leads in this game, a 2-0 (and allowing 4 straight 2nd period stars goals), 5-4 lead and 6-5 lead before losing it in OT. For the second straight night they were defeated in the faceoff dot, only by two draws winning 35 of 72. The avs have been great at getting tons of shots, firing 40 on goal tonight for 6 goals, but came up one short. In a game where the offense was clicking, but the defence was awful, the avs just couldn't get the two points and walked away with 1. Besides Duchene, McClement Winnik (2nd straight game) and Stastny scored the other goals. Ryan Wilson had his best game of the season, with 3 assists he now has 1 goal and 7 assists as well as a team best +8. Despite a great game from the top line, the avs can't be happy with this loss and certainly will serve as a learning point for the whole team.
Avalanche Three Stars:
3. Erik Johnson - Despite getting victimized on the game winning goal, Johnson had another rock-solid game picking up an assist while logging just over 27 minutes of work. I thought he made Ryan Wilson play a lot better in a new pairing on d, but most importantly he continues to lead with force and strong play on the ice, big reasons I believe he eventually will be named captain of this team
2. Ryan Wilson - Had his best game in an av uniform tonight, picking up 3 assists being paired with Erik Johnson. Wilson has been known for his physical play, but he has really chipped in offensively with 8 points this season and a team best +8. I didn't think he would even make the team this year, but he has been a great surprise and surely solidified his spot on the team after years of fighting for a spot
1. Matt Duchene - What a game for Duchene, paired with Stastny and Hejduk he really got a chance to showcase his top notch talent tonight in scoring his first career hatrick and picking up an assist for a 4-point night. I have been saying for weeks that he needs a true winger, but playing on the wing with Stastny and having Hejduk on the other side really creates room for him to find his place. Simply put, this line is dominant with the puck and can cycle as good as any first line in the league, and Coach Sacco needs to keep them together. Congrats to Matt on his first career hatrick
Misplay of the Game: Two seperate plays here, first being Ryan O'Byrne knocking the puck into his own net for the first Stars goal, which was a real momentum shift for Dallas in the 2nd. But the obvious choice was the OT goal, as Hejda knocked Varly out of his net and Erik Johnson couldn't cover up as Eriksson banked it off EJ in the net for the game winning goal
Play of the Game: No brainer here, Matt Duchene's hatrick goal was simply nasty as he split two Stars defenders with a beauty toe drag and put it past Lehtonen for his first career hatrick
Game #14 - The avs head home for a divisional matchup with the Calgary Flames, as they look to rebound following two straight losses as well as revenge on the Flames who beat them a few games ago. The game is Sunday night (@8pm).
-Joel Forman - Colorado Avalanche News
No comments:
Post a Comment