Avs, bringing some fight to the ice, entering 2nd round with Coyotes
On the heels of their big brawl at Arizona on Saturday, the Avalanche and Coyotes meet again Wednesday, this time at the Pepsi Center.
There could be some carry-over emotions from that chippy game, but the two guys who kick-started the brawl probably won’t be involved again.
Arizona forward Zac Rinaldo is expected to be slapped with a hefty NHL suspension before Wednesday’s game, and Colorado rookie defenseman Sam Girard probably learned his lesson about skating up to a player of Rinaldo’s ilk when tensions are high.
Rinaldo dropped Girard to the ice with one punch Saturday, moments after Rinaldo’s big centerice hit on star Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon.
After Colorado’s 6-2 win, Girard, 19, said he wasn’t attempting to fight Rinaldo — evidenced by the fact he had his gloves on and was holding his stick.
“No. It’s not my job,” said the 162-pound Girard, one of the NHL’s smallest defenseman. “I didn’t say anything to him. Noth-
ing. I was ready to go into the zone and cross check him a little bit. I didn’t see him punch me. I’m fine.”
With Girard on his knees and elbows and holding his head, a melee erupted. MacKinnon and Avs defenseman Erik Johnson skated after Rinaldo, with Johnson ending up fighting him, and MacKinnon fought Arizona’s Josh Archibald. Colorado forwards Gabe Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen also were involved but didn’t throw any punches.
Rinaldo, Johnson, MacKinnon and Archibald were assessed fighting majors. Rinaldo got an additional five-minute match penalty for his actions against Girard, and Johnson was given an additional roughing minor. MacKinnon and Archibald were given game misconducts. So among the four players, only Johnson remained in the game.
The Avs went on to take a 1-0 lead in a 4-on-4 sequence and added two powerplay goals to capitalize on Rinaldo’s match penalty.
“Things happen on the ice and guys stuck up for one another,” Landeskog said. “All of sudden, we find ourselves in position to take control of the game, and that’s what we did.”
Rinaldo, 27, is facing his fifth suspen- sion since entering the league in 2011-12. The middleweight enforcer has already missed 19 games because of suspension while playing for Philadelphia and Boston. On Tuesday, he waived his rights for an in-person hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety and will instead have a telephone hearing Wednesday. The hearing has been delayed because of the mandatory NHL Christmas break from Sunday through Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Avs (17-15-3, 37 points) are embarking on a six-game homestand and play nine of their next 10 games at the Pepsi Center. They are 5-2-1 since beginning the month 0-4. Last season, Colorado bottomed out in December and never recovered, finishing with a club-record low 22 wins and 48 points.
“We know we’re a different team. We’ve talked about it ever since training camp,” Landeskog said. “You get to the point that you have to stop talking about it and show it — and I feel like that’s what we’ve been doing the last few weeks. We’re talking about trying to climb the ladder and pick up points here that we know are important. We just have to make sure we take care of this homestand now after enjoying the holidays. We’ll be excited to get back to work.”