Wild's Kuemper shuts out Avs again
The official game recap Colorado Avalanche vs Minnesota Wild.Minnesota Wild goalie Darcy Kuemper stands 6-foot-5, yet he must seem even taller to the Colorado Avalanche.
Kuemper made 30 saves in the Wild's 3-0 win at Pepsi Center on Saturday for his second consecutive shutout against the Avalanche, who have lost the first two games to open a season for the first time since 2008-09.
Kuemper, who has four career shutouts, stopped 16 shots Thursday in the Wild's season opening 5-0 win against the Avalanche at Xcel Energy Center. His 22-save effort in Game 3 of the Western Conference First Round propelled the Wild to a 1-0 win against Colorado.
The Avalanche went on a 6-on-4 skating advantage with 2:33 remaining in the third period when Wild forward Matt Cooke was penalized for interference shortly after goalie Semyon Varlamov (31 saves) went to the bench for an extra attacker. Zach Parise scored into the empty net with 3.3 seconds left.
Colorado coach Patrick Roy shook up all four line combinations and they played with a lot more energy than Thursday, but the outcome was the same.
The Wild took a 2-0 lead at 11:50 of the second period on a goal by Jason Zucker, who accepted a pass from Thomas Vanek near the left hash marks and beat Varlamov with a one-timer over the goalie's left shoulder.
The Avalanche lost defenseman Erik Johnson for the balance of the game at 2:33 of the period when he was assessed a 5-minute major penalty and game misconduct for elbowing Wild center Erik Haula into the boards while helping to kill off a slashing penalty to Matt Duchene. Though shaken, Haula was able to rise to his feet and remain in the game.
Colorado killed off the penalty, which turned into a 4-on-4 skating situation for two minutes when Vanek interfered with defenseman Ryan Wilson before the power play resumed.
An apparent goal by Charlie Coyle, who scored in the first period, was waved off at 7:18 because Varlamov was knocked down before the puck entered the net. The call was confirmed following a video replay.
Kuemper made 11 saves in the period. His best stop came with 8.4 seconds remaining when he snared Maxime Talbot's shot from the slot with his glove.
The Wild took a 1-0 lead in the first period on Coyle's goal at 1:51. Ryan Suter took a shot from the left point and Coyle deflected the puck behind Varlamov.
The Avalanche, who failed to get a shot on goal while going 0-for-4 on the power plays Thursday, managed one shot during a man advantage after Parise was penalized for slashing at 10:46 of the first period.
Varlamov kept the Avalanche within striking distance by making eight saves during a Wild power play that started at 15:14 when Johnson went off for holding. The Wild retained possession in the Avalanche end for the first 1:20 of the power play before Colorado finally managed to clear the zone.
The Wild outshot the Avalanche 10-2 over the final 4:46 of the period and 15-9 overall. Parise, who had nine shots Thursday, had six in the first period Saturday.
-- by Rick Sadowski for NHL.com --
Eurolanche.com, Worldwide, eurolanche@eurolanche.com
12/10/2014 - 06:00
