AVS START NEW SEASON WITH VICTORY IN N.Y.
Varly’s 37 saves help Avs post season-opening victory in New York
Semyon Varlamov looked like the goalie of 2013-14 on Thursday night, disgruntled center Matt Duchene scored the game’s f irst goal and defenseman Erik Johnson played monster minutes as the 2016-17 last-place Avalanche won its season opener at Madison Square Garden, beating the Rangers 4-2.
Among all the positives Colorado enjoyed to begin its 22nd season, none was more impressive than Varlamov, who made 37 saves and was perfect at even-strength. The Russian goaltender had double hip surgeries last winter to finally fix the troubling groin-muscle problems he suffered since he was a Vezina Trophy finalist in the Avs’ 112-point season of 2013-14.
“Varly is insane when he’s healthy,” said Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie, who scored the game-winning goal late in the second period. “He can be out of his mind, and he was tonight.”
Barrie gave the Avs a 3-2 lead late in the second period and captain Gabe Landeskog scored an empty-net goal in the final minute. Mikko Rantanen scored a power-play goal midway through the period as Colorado took a 2-0 lead, before the Rangers scored twice on the power play to forge a tie.
“It’s nice to come in here and win,” said Avalanche coach Jared Bednar, whose team was outshot 14-7 in the third period and 39-26 for the game. “Obviously, tough building, great crowd; it was energetic. I liked a lot of the things we did. Our puck decisions cost us a lot of scoring chances against, but Varly was outstanding.”
Bednar added: “Our guys played with a lot of fire and heart and killed the last four penalties. I saw some good
things out there, with Varly being at the top of the list.”
Johnson was a close second. He logged a team-high 26 minutes, 37 seconds and was plus-2. He often double-shifted because rookie defenseman Andrei Mironov struggled at times and played only 11:24 in his NHL debut.
“I just thrive being out there more, playing more,” Johnson said. “I feel good, and if that’s what it takes to help the team win every night, I’ll play as many minutes as they want.”
Barrie logged 25:14. He accepted a pass from rookie forward Alex Kerfoot between the circles and crushed a shot past goalie Henrik Lundqvist’s glove side for the game-winner.
“That was a sweet dish,” Barrie said. “His patience is fun to watch. I just came in late and didn’t really call for it. But he put it on my tape and fired it as quick as I could.”
The Avs scored at 5:29 and 10:53 to take their early lead. Duchene put in a rebound beside the crease after linemate Nail Yakupov made a nice pass to the point to new defenseman Patrik Nemeth, who put a shot on net. And then on the Avs’ power play — their first of the season — Rantanen ripped a one-timer past Lundqvist to double the lead.
But the Rangers capitalized on ensuing penalties to Matt Nieto and Mironov, with Mika Zibanejad scoring both power-play goals — the latter with only two seconds remaining in the period. Then Varlamov shut the door. “Best player on the ice was their goaltender,” Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. “He played a great game and had some big saves.”