At one point last night, the Avalanche were only 2 points outside of a wildcard position. By the time the rest of the league had finished their games, they're now back 4 of the Calgary Flames.
Fast forward to the third period. Dallas is sitting pretty at 2-0 after a top corner snipe from Cody Eakin, and a disgusting giveaway from Nate Guenin (surprised...?) that caught Varlamov completely offguard.
A little more than 6 minutes into the game, Ryan O'Reilly restored a bit of fan faith in him by banging in a rebound to make it a one goal game.
Final minute of play. Goalie is pulled in a textbook Roy move to get the extra attacker, and Tyson Barrie came up clutch once again to tie the game with 19 seconds left in the stanza. Overtime yielded no victors, so we got to witness some good old fashioned shootout moves.
It took 11 rounds total, but Max Talbot was able to fire a puck right past Lehtonen's 7 hole, and the Avs took the extra point.
All in all, the Avs got outshot horrendously YET AGAIN! Their defense is so porous, I'm surprised that teams don't get 40+ shots a night. This team needs a stud and a stay at home defender if they want to be legitimate contenders. That being said, their tenacity shown since before the All-star break is a beacon of hope for us fans. The team has been able to string together wins, without losing in regulation too often.
In my opinion, we need a trade sooner rather than later. Whether or not anybody wants to take on his salary is another issue entirely.
Varlamov has been an anchor as of late, and his play has given the team the will to win. If only Berra could screw off to Switzerland so Pickard could join the club...
The Avs are getting their mojo back, and their using this mojo to push their way back to relevancy.
Bring on the big bad Red Wings.
By: Brian
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