Barrie’s big goal gives Avs shot of confidence
Shark Tank win gives Colorado momentum as series heads back to the Mile High City
It could have easily been a swing and a miss.
But Tyson Barrie connected, though, and it could swing the momentum in this second-round series. Barrie managed to bat a skipping puck for a top-shelf goal, a crucial moment as the 27-year-old defenceman led the Colorado Avalanche to Sunday’s 4-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center, evening up their best-of-seven Western Conference showdown at one win apiece.
If you watch the replay of Barrie’s goal, you’ll notice a sort of checked swing as he cautioned against missing the rolling puck altogether. He somehow gives it a solid swat, pinging the puck off the inside of the far post for the go-ahead goal as part of an impressive three-point performance.
“I was in front of the net and I saw it coming like a hot potato towards him,” said Avs captain Gabriel Landeskog with a grin.
“To be honest with you, I was ready to start backchecking because, if that bounces over his stick, it could be a dangerous chance the other way. But like he said in here between periods, he just hoped for the best and swung at it.”
Indeed, Barrie admitted to his buddies at the second intermission — just 3:27 after lighting the lamp — that he was worried about whiffing on that rebound try from the right circle.
He conceded to the media, too, that he wasn’t sure he could hammer the hopper.
“I don’t know how I hit that,” said Barrie, who sandwiched his tally with two assists.
“I could see it rolling, rolling, rolling, and I just tried to time it. Maybe more luck than anything that I was able to get some wood on it. I had to, like, saw it off. I didn’t follow-through. I had to chop it. It was a weird one, but I’ll take it.
“It’s good for the confidence. When you get guys playing confident, it helps the team, in general. I’d never had a playoff goal before, so it’s nice to get that out of the way and get moving.”
The Sharks are learning what the Calgary Flames did in the opening round — that it won’t be easy to bounce these underdog Avs from the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Landeskog contributed a goal and assist on Sunday, including a dandy deflection on another of Barrie’s shots, while Matt Nieto scored on a chaotic scene around the crease and Nathan MacKinnon’s empty-netter turned out to the game-winner after the Men in Teal pulled within one with only 10 ticks remaining in regulation.
Brent Burns potted a pair and added a helper for the locals — the bearded behemoth now has seven points in two dates since the Sharks advanced to Round 2 — and Evander Kane also tickled twine in a losing cause.
The teams are now headed to the Mile High City for Tuesday’s Game 3 at Pepsi Center (8 p.m. MT, CBC/NBC).
“To come home with a split, we know how important that is for a series,” Landeskog said afterward. “I’m not saying it’s game over if it’s 2-0 for them, but you’re definitely in a hole. Now, the series is shifting back to Denver and we get a split and, all of a sudden, it’s home-ice advantage for us.
“For us, it’s about making the push and not saving anything. I mean, we have nothing to save our energy for. You’re playing, it’s almost May, and you’re in the Stanley Cup playoffs in the second round. For us, we love the position we’re in. We love being the underdogs. We believe in what we can do as a group. We’ve talked about that, but we’re not done yet.”
Over the past few days, the Avs have been shrugging off questions about their extended slump at SAP Center. Even after Sunday’s positive result, they have just three Ws in two dozen trips to San Jose dating back to 2009.
The only history they’re dwelling on, of course, is what happened in their opening-round upset of the Flames.
They lost that series opener too, just as they did in Friday’s 5-2 setback to the Sharks. From there, they strung together four straight wins.
“I think after Game 2 in Calgary, our belief grew and we started dominating that series,” MacKinnon said after he and linemate Mikko Rantanen both extended their post-season point streaks to six straight games.
“These guys, I think, are a better team (than Calgary), but we still have the same confidence that we can beat these guys.” wgilbertson@postmedia.com Twitter.com/WesGilbertson