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Brunette's magic isn't enough

Huge first-period goal, vital role in another wasted

By Pat Rooney, Special to the Rocky

Published April 14, 2008 at 7:05 p.m.
Updated April 15, 2008 at 12:23 a.m.

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Avalanche left wing Wojtek Wolski, left, celebrates his assist on Andrew Brunette's goal that put Colorado up 1-0 in the first period.

Photo by Barry Gutierrez / The Rocky

Avalanche left wing Wojtek Wolski, left, celebrates his assist on Andrew Brunette's goal that put Colorado up 1-0 in the first period.

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For a moment, it was easy to believe it had not been almost five years since Andrew Brunette scored a huge goal in a playoff showdown between the Avalanche and Minnesota Wild at the Pepsi Center.

It was not quite deju vu all over again, though, for Brunette, whose first-period goal in Game 3 on Monday for the Avalanche was somewhat of a mirror opposite of his previous goal in a Colorado- Minnesota playoff showdown in Denver.

In the 2003 playoffs, Brunette famously helped end the Avalanche's season and the career of Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy.

It was Game 7 of the teams' first-round series at the Pepsi Center that year when a Brunette shot in overtime lifted Minnesota to its third consecutive 3-2 win and a series victory against the Avalanche.

Much changed for Brunette and both teams shortly thereafter. First, Roy retired that summer. Brunette spent one more season in "The Land of 10,000 Lakes" and hovered in limbo during the lockout season of 2004-05 before signing with Colorado.

Brunette proved to be a solid playoff performer for the Avalanche in the 2006 playoffs, producing three goals and six assists in nine games before it was swept in the second round by Anaheim.

The Avalanche hopes Monday's performance is a sign of things to come from the veteran wing. Brunette started the scoring with a goal at the 15:19 mark of the first period, putting home an open rebound chance after Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom stopped a shot by center Joe Sakic.

"That's the way goals are in the playoffs - they're bang-bang, rebounds, driving the net," Brunette said. "I was in the right spot at the right time."

Though not officially credited on the score sheet, Brunette also played a pivotal role on Sakic's second goal, which pulled the Avalanche into a 2-2 tie with just more than five minutes remaining in regulation and helped send the game into overtime.

With Sakic angling for a shot from the right circle, Brunette crashed the net from the opposite wing and was shoved into Backstrom by Wild defenseman Aaron Voros. By the time Sakic's shot reached the crease, Brunette was in sort of a scrum with Backstrom inside the cage, but the goal held because of Voros' shove.

"I was going in for the rebound and I got hit," Brunette said. "I definitely was caught in the net."