Varlamov makes 42 saves, Avs top Stars
Official game recap of a game between Colorado Avalanche and St. Louis Blues.Semyon Varlamov made 42 saves, Gabriel Landeskog scored the go-ahead goal midway through the second period and the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Dallas Stars 3-1 on Saturday at American Airlines Center.
Landeskog broke a 1-1 tie when he scored a shorthanded goal, beating Stars goaltender Antti Niemi over his blocker after defenseman John Klingberg was unable to corral a carom off the boards near the Dallas blue line.
Carl Soderberg had a first-period shorthanded goal, and Mikhail Grigorenko scored with 5:51 left in the third period for Colorado (26-21-3), which won its fourth straight game overall and eighth in a row against Dallas.
Niemi made 12 saves for Dallas (30-14-5), which got a power-play goal from defenseman Jason Demers at 7:24 of the second period. The Stars had 106 shot attempts; Colorado blocked 32 and 31 others missed the net.
Dallas had the better of play in the first period. Colorado skated off with a 1-0 lead after Soderberg scored his shorthanded goal with 53 seconds remaining. After Dallas center Jason Spezza couldn't control the puck near his own blue line, Soderberg gained possession, evaded Jamie Benn along the boards and roofed a wrist shot to beat Niemi inside the far post.
The goal came 37 seconds after Colorado defenseman Nick Holden was called for hooking.
The Stars tied it on Demers' power-play goal. Varlamov stopped Ales Hemsky's shot from the left point and Antoine Roussel's attempt to poke in the rebound at the near post, but Demers was able to knock in the second rebound.
Colorado regained the lead at 10:12 when Landeskog took a wrist shot from the slot that went over Niemi's blocker for his 11th goal of the season.
Colorado continues its three-game road trip Tuesday at the San Jose Sharks. Dallas concludes its three-game homestand Monday against the Calgary Flames.
- by Steve Hunt for NHL.com -
Eurolanche.com, Worldwide, eurolanche@eurolanche.com
24/01/2016 - 08:00
