Colorado erases two-goal deficit after benching goalie Miska
The Avalanche closed its first period on Tuesday against the Anaheim Ducks with four goals allowed, a sullen netminder headed to the bench, and frustration building inside Ball Arena.
The Avs still found a way to win.
Colorado scored six unanswered goals to beat the Ducks, 8-4, and extend its current winning streak to four games on a night filled with momentum shifts. Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri starred with four points (two goals) as teammates PierreEdouard Bellemare, Andre Burakovsky, Sam Girard, Nathan MacKinnon,
Mikko Rantanen and Brandon Saad added to the scoring total.
Philipp Grubauer earned the victory in net, but only after replacing reserve goalie Hunter Miska following the first period.
“We got a bit of unluckiness in the first. We hit a few posts and it could have been a lot different,”
Kadri said. “We felt like we just had a couple of defensive hiccups that needed to straighten out. We had a little chat in between the first intermission and came out a lot better.”
The Avalanche (17-8-2) showed promise 1 minute into the game when Burakovsky cleaned up a Kadri shot and beat Anaheim goalie Ryan Miller on the rebound. The Ducks (8-16-2) responded with two goals over the next 4 minutes via wingers Troy Terry and Danton Heinen — former teammates at the University of Denver — to lead 2-1.
Kadri tied the game with a slapshot from the high-slot, but once
again, Anaheim struck back with force. Ducks forward Adam Henrique beat Miska after a lost Avalanche faceoff on its defensive zone. Then, with Colorado on the power-play, captain Gabe Landeskog tripped Anaheim winger Derek Grant on a breakaway opportunity at the net. Grant was awarded a penalty shot and snuck a wrister over Miska’s left shoulder pad.
However, coach Jared Bednar did not place all the blame on Miska for a disastrous first period.
“Hunter would like to mix in another save or two there in the first period, but we hung him out to dry,” Bednar said. “That’s not something you want to do with a young goaltender coming in that’s trying to build some confidence.”
The Ducks led 4-2 entering the second period, prompting Colorado to bench Miska for Grubauer, who had been scheduled for a rest day. Miska, a 25-year-old Minnesota native, entered the night with a 1-1-2 record while lacking consistency in net. Normal backup, Pavel Francouz, is on injured reserve (lower body).
Bednar expressed confidence in Miska in pregame. Bednar said: “He’s looked calm and confident. Then it seems like as the game goes on, it looks like he gets a little nervous and a little jittery. I like him to just be able to kind of get prepared for the game and be confident in his ability to play goal.”
On Tuesday, Miska suffered the inverse problem, with early jitters that accelerated Colorado’s first-period implosion. But Colorado climbed back with Grubauer.
Rantanen got things started with a bank-shot off Miller’s back and into net. Kadri scored his second goal of the night to tie the game entering the third period. The Avs’ scoring spree continued.
MacKinnon put Colorado ahead, 5-4, with a snipe from the high-slot. Colorado also received third-period goals from Bellemare (empty net), Girard and Saad.
Footnotes. The Avs’ injury report currently lists six players with three expected to return in the near future. Defenseman Bo Byram (upper-body) and forward J.T. Compher (upper-body) are expected to be medically cleared to play in Thursday’s home game vs. the Minnesota Wild. Defenseman Cale Makar (upper-body) participated in morning skate Tuesday in a normal jersey, however, Bednar said there is currently no firm timetable for Makar’s return.