COMPHER GOAL IN THIRD LIFTS AVS PAST SABRES
Compher gets two points, game-winner; rookie Kaut scores his first career NHL goal Czech, please. Czech Republic natives Martin Kaut and Pavel Francouz had another memorable night Wednesday in the Avalanche’s 3-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres at the Pep
Kaut, a 20-year-old rookie forward, scored his first career goal, and Francouz, a goalie in his first full NHL season, closed the door with 13 third-period saves.
“Just my dream when I was a kid — I finally scored my first NHL goal,” Kaut said.
Kaut and Francouz also starred in Saturday’s 1-0 victory at Anaheim, where Kaut had the game-winning assist and Francouz his first career shutout.
“I think he’s shown that he can play at this level,” Francouz, 29, said of the young Kaut. “He’s really working hard, so I’m really (excited) to see how good he can be.”
Center J.T. Compher also starred in Colorado fourth straight win. He had two points, including the game-winning goal 11:54 into the third period off the hard work of linemates Joonas Donskoi and Tyson Jost. Donskoi had the game-winning assist on a pass from
behind goalie Carter Hutton’s cage.
“Our line was getting after it, causing turnovers,” Compher said. “Josty and Donny did a great job on the wall, and great pass by Donny to me.”
Compher assisted on Gabe Landeskog’s power-play goal in the first period. Colorado finished 2-for-2 on the man-advantage after failing to score on 15of-16 chances in the previous five games.
“It was the difference in the game,” Compher said of the Avs’ success on the power play. “We know that it’s time to step up. Me and Josty are filling in for guys who are (injured), but when we get that opportunity, we have to try to take advantage, and we did a great job tonight.”
The Avalanche (37-18-7, 81 points) leapfrogged Dallas for second place in the Central Division and the Western Conference, with two games in hand over division/conference-leading St. Louis (37-17-10, 84 points).
It was a 1-1 game after the first period and 2-2 after the second, when both teams had 20 shots. The Avs appeared to take a 3-2 lead early in the third period, but referees ruled that Jost, who hadn’t scored in his previous 35 consecutive games, redirected the shot into the net with his stick above the crossbar.
“Just kind of my luck now,” Jost said.
The injury-depleted Avs continued to play without four key forwards in Mikko Rantanen, Nazem Kadri, Andre Burakovsky and Matt Calvert. Rantanen (shoulder area) missed his right fourth straight game, Kadri (leg) his eighth, Burakovsky (upper body) his second and Calvert (lower body) his fifth. Goalie Philipp Grubauer (lower body) missed his fifth game and is out indefinitely.
Burakovsky could return on the upcoming three-game trip that begins Friday at Carolina, but everyone else on the injured list will not.
Footnotes. Wednesday marked the beginning of a grueling stretch run, where the Avs will play their final 21 games over 39 days and not have more than a day’s rest between contests. … Forward Vladislav Namestinikov, who was acquired Monday before the trade deadline, played left wing on a line with center Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Kaut. … Colorado’s healthy scratch was defenseman Mark Barberio. … The Avs are now 12-3-1 in their last 16 games and 18-6-4 against Eastern Conference opponents.