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Tag: ilya solovyov

  • Avalanche finally solve Lukas Dostal late, but Ducks prevail in shootout

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    The Avalanche avoided being shutout for the first time this season, but Anaheim Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal prevented them from claiming two points.

    Anaheim defeated Colorado, 2-1, in a shootout Wednesday night at Ball Arena. The Avs are now 3-1-2 on this season-long, seven-game homestand that wraps up Friday night against the Philadelphia Flyers.

    “End of the day, their goalie had a big night and we had a tough time some of our execution early, so it wasn’t sustained for 60 minutes,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “Then (we) got a lot of good looks and just couldn’t put them in the back of the net.”

    Dostal finished with 40 saves, including 19 in the third period and overtime. Scott Wedgewood made 16, including a pair of breakaway stops in extra time.

    It took 34 shots and more than 56 minutes for the Avalanche to solve Dostal. Artturi Lehkonen buried a one-timer on a pass from Brock Nelson with 3:39 remaining in the third period to make this a 1-1 hockey game.

    “I thought we were pretty all over it,” Nelson said. “Didn’t really give them a whole lot. They maybe had one or two little flurries, but I thought we had a fair share of good looks. Just couldn’t get one earlier to kind of crack it and get momentum.”

    While the Avs had a 20-10 lead in shots on goal through two periods, the scoring chances were pretty even. Colorado did pour on the pressure in the third, racking up an 18-3 advantage in scoring chances, per Natural Stat Trick.

    Anaheim nearly stole a late winner in regulation, but after Wedgewood stopped the initial shot, both he and Victor Olofsson dove into the blue paint to keep the puck from crossing the goal line.

    The Avalanche tried out a new-look top line in this contest. Olofsson joined Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas on the first unit. Olofsson also joined the top power-play unit.

    Colorado’s typical top line, MacKinnon between Necas and Lehkonen, has logged the second-most minutes together at 5-on-5 of any forward trio in the NHL this season (460.8 minutes), trailing only Winnipeg’s top unit of Mark Scheifele between Kyle Connor and Gabe Vilardi (491.9 minutes), per MoneyPuck.

    “I liked (Olofsson) a lot,” Bednar said. “Victor has been playing a real good, solid 200-foot game. He started to chip in a little bit here offensively and I wanted to make a switch.

    “Sometimes it’s just good to change the mix of that top six. I want them all to be able to play with each other at different times.”

    Anaheim scored the lone goal of the opening 40 minutes on a counterattack early in the second period. Sam Malinski tried to poke the puck ahead along the left wall in the offensive zone, but Ducks captain Radko Gudas intercepted it and sent the visitors in the other direction.

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    Corey Masisak

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  • Avalanche earn depth-charged 4-0 victory against Columbus, led by Trent Miner, Brent Burns

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    It was Next Generation day at Ball Arena, which involves kids taking over key roles during the in-game fan experience.

    It turned into a day where the Colorado Avalanche stars took a back seat to some of the “other guys” as well.

    Brent Burns scored twice, Trent Miner collected his first NHL victory and shutout with 29 saves and the bottom-six forwards were all over the scoresheet in a 4-0 win Saturday afternoon against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

    “We got contributions from a bunch of different guys tonight,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “It’s how you win. If you want to win a lot, you’re going to win in different ways and different guys are going to be chipping in. That’s what our team has been doing a lot this year.”

    The Avs have now won the first two contests of this season-long seven-game homestand. Colorado is halfway through its home slate this season, and is 19-0-2 at Ball Arena. The Avs have also won 17 straight here, which is one one shy of the franchise record set during the 2021-22 campaign.

    Burns gave Colorado the lead at 13:58 of the opening period. Gavin Brindley took the puck off the wall after a nice pass from Valeri Nichushkin and to the net on a rush. During the ensuing scramble, the rebound of a sharp-angle Ross Colton shot kicked out to the inside edge of the right circle and Burns snapped one through all the traffic in front for his seventh goal of the season.

    His second goal of the game and eighth of the year came with Colorado’s fourth line on the ice. Brindley and Zakhar Bardakov collected assists as Burns’ perimeter shot went off the goaltender, off a Blue Jackets’ defenseman and trickled across the goal line.

    Burns is one of the great offensive defensemen on the 21st century, but his eight goals this year are already two more than his last season with the Carolina Hurricanes. He’s well-positioned to hit double digits for the 14th time in his career, and 15 for the ninth time isn’t out of the question.

    His two-goal game came two days after his defense partner, Josh Manson, scored twice.

    “I don’t think either shot was going at the net,” Burns said. “I wasn’t thinking about it. (Manson) even talked about it today, about how this game has a funny way of humbling you … we just talked about having a good game. It was lucky bounces, but it’s (also) forwards being in good spots.”

    Colorado’s recently formed third line produced the next two goals after Burns’ opener. Parker Kelly, up from the fourth line because of an injury to captain Gabe Landeskog, won a battle along the boards to the right of Columbus goalie Elvis Merzlikins. He got the puck to Jack Drury, who made a crafty little pass to Victor Olofsson for a backhanded shot and his eight goal of the season at 17:28 of the opening period.

    Olofsson, a shoot-first offensive player in his career, had gone 11 games without a goal, though Avs coach Jared Bednar has repeatedly praised his defense and all-around play in his first season with the club.

    Ilya Solovyov scored his first career NHL goal to give Colorado a 3-0 advantage midway through the second period. Olofsson led the offensive rush out of his own end, before leaving the puck for Kelly. His cross-ice pass found Solovyov, the trailing defenseman, and he buried a wrist shot from the left circle at 10:30 of the middle frame.

    It was the third straight game with a point for Solovyov. He had no goals and four assists in his first 25 career NHL games, but has a goal and two assists in his past three.

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    Corey Masisak

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