It finally happened. The Colorado Avalanche was the team that was the first to beat the Chicago Blackhawks in regulation when they thumped the Hawks 6-2 last night. Matt Duchene had a goal and three assists to fuel Colorado and deal Chicago its first regulation loss since last March. PA Parentau had a goal and two assists while Ryan O’Reilly had a goal and an assist.
Chicago (21-1-3) got the game’s opening goal from Johnathan Toews at 5:44 of the first period but Colorado reeled off five unanswered goals before Bryan Bickell scored the other Chicago goal with 11 minutes left in the game. Six different players scored for Colorado.
SPIN: We knew it would happen eventually and it’s not surprising it was Colorado. This was the back end of a home-and-home series and Chicago was without Patrick Sharp (shoulder; 3-4 weeks) so all the stars aligned to lead to a loss. Corey Crawford got pummeled between the pipes, allowing five goals on 19 shots before getting yanked to start the third period. It’s a minor bump for Chicago but could be a spark for Colorado so let’s watch how they respond in their next game after toppling Chicago in this one.
Another six-spot was posted out west by a very unlikely team-Nashville. The Predators were led by Colin Wilson’s two goals and two assists as they romped 6-0 over Edmonton. Pekka Rinne turned aside 24 shots for the shutout. Shea Weber had three assists in the win.
SPIN: Nashville averaged less than two goals per game coming in so this is likely to be the exception and not the rule. Don’t go nutty rushing to the waiver wire to pick up Predators. See the Stat of the Night below for the reasoning why. Of the four other Predators who scored, none of them has more than four goals this season. Edmonton has now been shutout in back to back games so it’s time to keep the Oil in the drum known as your bench until they can score. Devan Dubnyk got hooked after allowing two goals on 13 shots in the first period. Yann Denis allowed the other four on 21 shots in the final 40 minutes.
Anaheim got a 29-save shutout from Victor Fasth as they doused the Flames 4-0. Daniel Winnik, Sheldon Souray, Bobby Ryan and Ryan Getzlaf scored for the Ducks.
SPIN: Getzlaf had a goal and an assist for the second straight game and is picking up steam. Winnik scored for the first time in 18 games but he’s no more than waiver fodder here in the middle of the season. Fasth got back in goal and looked sharp as Calgary couldn’t solve him. Anaheim has won 10 straight at home.
Dustin Byfuglien scored the overtime winner as Winnipeg squeaked past Florida 3-2. Andrew Ladd had a goal (his 13th) and an assist in the win for the Jets while Ondrej Pavelec stopped 38 of 40 shots in the win.
SPIN: Goaltender Jacob Markstrom lasted much longer in this start than he did last time out against Washington. Johnathan Huberdeau scored his 12th goal of the season and continues to impress to the point of being the second Panther to play for your fantasy team on a daily basis. Defenseman Brian Campbell is the other. Winnipeg is suddenly putting the pieces together on the penalty kill and has not allowed a power play goal in seven games. Pavelec is a goaltender worth looking into for additional depth in the second half of the season.
Ottawa knocked off the Rangers 3-2. Rick Nash scored in his third straight game for New York but Jakub Silfverberg’s goal with 4:41 left in the game was the winner for Ottawa. Sergei Gonchar had a pair of assists for the Senators.
SPIN: Brad Richards came back after a missing four games with an injury and potted the other New York goal. Robin Lehner made 33 saves in the win while Henrik Lundqvist (11-8-1) made 36 saves in the losing effort. Both teams are solid plays.
Multiple Goal Scorers
Colin Wilson of Nashville was the only one.
Stat of the Night-It Takes Two
Nashville is 9-1-4 when scoring two or more than goals in a game. They are 1-8-1 when they don’t
Stat of the Night II-Maybe They Like Volkswagen Better
The Calgary Flames have lost 16 straight games at the Honda Center and have beaten the Ducks on the road once in 25 tries since the 1999-2000 season.
Stat of the Night III-Masters of Manhattan
Ottawa is 12-1-1 in its last 14 games in Madison Square Garden.
Three Stars of the Night
1 Wilson
2 Duchene
3 Fasth
Saturday’s Games (all times ET)
Philadelphia at Boston 1pm The Flyers will fail in another attempt to get to .500.
Washington at NY Islanders 1pm The Caps try for their fourth in a row.
Detroit at Columbus 2pm Why does Detroit have so much trouble with the bottom-feeders in the West?
St. Louis at San Jose 4pm Will the Blues build on a 6-3 win over Phoenix?
Pittsburgh at Toronto 7pm Pens go for four in a row against a the Leafs.
New Jersey at Carolina 7pm It’s backup goaltender night.
Montreal at Tampa Bay 7pm The best in the East right now takes on the best of the East at the end of January.
Dallas at Phoenix 8pm Coyotes try to avoid a three-game slide in the tight Western Conference.
Minnesota at Nashville 8pm First one to two wins. Whether it’s poor offense or great goaltending, I can’t tell.
Calgary at Los Angeles 10pm Flames travel 25 miles and try not to get hosed for a second straight night.
