Go to the mobile version of this Web site.

Login | Contact Us | Site Map | Paid archives | Electronic edition | Subscription Questions | Extras

After 0-3 start, Avs win third in a row

By Rick Sadowski, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published October 20, 2008 at 10:57 p.m.

Text size  
Colorado's David Jones celebrates after scoring a goal against the the Kings during Monday night's game in Los Angeles.

Photo by Jeff Lewis © AP

Colorado's David Jones celebrates after scoring a goal against the the Kings during Monday night's game in Los Angeles.

Avalanche quick links

Drew on the NHL
Drew Litton
Scores and statistics

Related Links

Related Stories

More Colorado Avalanche

More stories »

LOS ANGELES — It wasn't the most artistic game the Avalanche will play this season, but a win's a win, especially on the road.

The Ryan Smyth-Paul Stastny-Milan Hejduk line combined for three goals and three assists Monday night and the Avalanche hung on for a 4-3 win - its third in a row - over the Los Angeles Kings before 13,891 at the Staples Center with goalie Peter Budaj securing his first victory of the season.

"I felt great," said Budaj, who gave up an early bad goal but finished with 26 saves. "I've worked hard in practices getting ready for whenever I get called on. The guys did a great team effort, especially in the third period. We were up by one goal and there were some big plays, big blocks. We didn't play selfish."

Even so, the Avalanche still spent too much time in its own end in the third period, when it managed just two shots against Kings relief goalie Erik Ersberg, who replaced Jason LaBarbera (four goals on 14 shots).

Rookie defenseman Drew Doughty, the Kings' first-round draft pick (second overall) four months ago, scored his first NHL goal to cut the Avalanche lead to 4-3 at 2:25 of the final period.

Doughty took a shot from the middle of the right faceoff circle, using defenseman John-Michael Liles as a partial screen, and beat Budaj with a shot to the far corner.

The Avalanche struck for three unanswered goals to end the second period to grab a 4-2 lead and chase LaBarbera.

Hejduk and David Jones scored on consecutive shots 1:15 apart after Kings giveaways, and Smyth collected his second goal of the game with a spectacular play.

Hejduk, who is among the NHL leaders with six goals, stole the puck from Kings center Michal Handzus in the Los Angeles end, skated across the middle into the right faceoff circle and beat LaBarbera on the Avalanche's fifth shot of the game.

Jones netted his first goal of the season at 5:16 after Marek Svatos forced a Kings turnover. Jones was above the circles when he took a shot that eluded LaBarbera low to the glove side with the Avalanche's sixth shot.

Smyth, who has three goals in the past two games, took a pass from Stastny before putting a big move on Doughty. After skating by Doughty, Smyth broke in alone on LaBarbera and flipped the puck inside the right post at 16:32.

"Once I got through, I wanted to take the puck to the net," Smyth said.

The Kings had taken a 2-1 lead at 3:02 of the period on a goal by Patrick O'Sullivan. Budaj made consecutive saves against Jarret Stoll and Oscar Moller, but the Avalanche couldn't clear the puck and O'Sullivan swept it into the net from the left side.

Budaj, who sat behind Andrew Raycroft in the two previous games, stopped 13 of 14 shots in the first period but gave up an awful goal to Moller with 15 seconds remaining on a Kings power play.

Moller, playing in his fifth NHL game, was standing along the goal line to Budaj's right when he flicked a puck that somehow slipped between the goalie's pads at the 6:19 mark.

"The first one was a tough one to start," Avalanche coach Tony Granato said. "You worry how he's going to respond to that, and he responded very well. That's been his M.O. as far as when things don't go well, he's always mentally been able to put it behind him and go forward."

The Avalanche was outshot 14-4 in the period but tied the game on Smyth's first goal of the night at 11:28.

The Avalanche began the game ranked last in the NHL for penalty killing (69.6 percent), but managed to kill off simultaneous calls against Joe Sakic (slashing) and Stastny (holding) when Kings forward Alexander Frolov broke in alone on Budaj, who made the stop.

ETC.: Sakic was held without a point for the first time this season. His five-game point-scoring streak was his longest to begin a season since 1999-2000, when he opened with an eight-game streak. . . . The Avalanche has been ahead or tied after two periods in all six games this season. . . . The Avalanche scratched center Ben Guite for the third game in a row. . . . The Avalanche will take today off and return to practice Wednesday.

Comments

  • October 20, 2008

    11:28 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    GJrodburner writes:

    Six games into the season and this team finally has made it back to .500, and if they could learn how to play defense in the third period, not relax when they have a lead, and could stand to have a shade more grit in order to get the damn puck out of their own end, they just might be a good team. Just as in Dallas, when this team has the lead, nothing good comes of it! Against the better division teams and Conference teams that type of defense will cost us some valuable points come April. Looking better than when it was 0-3. If this team can put together another series of wins it maybe on to bigger and better things in the NWD.

  • October 20, 2008

    11:43 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    hharpman writes:

    The return of Jimmy Legs.
    Great bounce back game from Budaj.... not.
    The first goal he absolutely should have had, the second goal he was in position and flayed his Jimmy legs around and the puck went through his legs, I know it was on the 3rd shot but he was in position.... the 3rd one was a perfect shot.
    That would have left the score at 4-1.
    Go back to Raycroft the whole team plays better in front of him.
    But the most important thing: We one again :)

  • October 21, 2008

    12:20 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    carmela_avs writes:

    I agree that this is still not a very good game from Budaj, even if we won. Although something good might come out of this, it could improve his confidence, and hopefully his play. Raycroft had 2 wins but I'm not sure if he can really pull it off if he becomes the number 1 goalie. It's still a bit early to see who is the better goalie.

    And that first goal by the Kings, first power play and they had a goal! What does this say the Avs' PK? They should do something about this..

  • October 21, 2008

    8:23 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    hharpman writes:

    Carmela if you are talking about the first goal the Kings scored. We could have had the best penalty killers in the world out there but when a goalie lets a puck in from that angle and along the ice.... It was just another Budaj blunder, don't blame the PK for that one.
    I heard the interview between periods with the kid who scored, it was his first NHL goal ever and he was very surprised it went in

  • October 21, 2008

    8:31 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    mmmark217 writes:

    Like I said last week. Bud-edge is good for 2 soft goals a game. Luckily, the Kings goalie, LaBarbera was good for more than two softies in this game.

  • October 21, 2008

    3:15 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    hockey31 writes:

    I agree some of the goals were weak shots. But he also had some some tough saves throughout the game, like on the 4-3 and 5-3. Raycroft would have let some of those shots in the net.

    Budaj is our #1. He has had a couple of bad bounce and some soft goals but he has only played four games. Give him time and he will prove me right.

  • October 21, 2008

    8:10 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    carmela_avs writes:

    I really don't want to put the blame on either PK or G for that first goal, what I'm just trying to say is that both could use a lot of improvement. Even if the G improves a lot (yes, everyone's hoping and praying for this), it wouldn't make much difference if the PK is still bad.

  • October 21, 2008

    10:37 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    aragornzxl writes:

    What the heck is "Avs when third in a row"? Please correct this mistake before more people sees this. Its a disgrace to RMN