If this is the team the Avalanche are going to have the rest of the year, then it is going to be a fun last month of the season.
General Manger Greg Sherman is sitting pretty after his acquisition Steve Downie has two goals and five assists in his first four games as an Avalanche. Downie has created a dynamic top line with the duo of Ryan O'Reilly and Gabriel Landeskog, who increased his point streak to six games with two assists tonight.
Things just got better as the line of Paul Stastny, Milan Hejduk and especially Matt Duchene, finally clicked. They were challenged by goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere to "step up" after the Detroit game and tonight, they answered the call.
Going into the third period tied 1-1, the Avs put on a show, scoring three times in the final frame to blow the Anaheim Ducks away and vault them back into a tie with the eighth place Dallas Stars.
Duchene was on in this game tonight, exhibiting the speed and agility that the Avs loved at the 2009 draft. He settled down his game without the frantic dekeing that only ends up on the opposition's stick. Duchene was uncoverable tonight. All the Ducks tried but none of them could compete with the speed and agility of Duchene.
Duchene was rewarded as he took a Paul Stastny pass over Ducks' defenseman Cam Fowler sliding on the ice and roofed it over a sprawled Jonas Hiller.
Jonas Hiller was good for most of the game but he was no match for Semyon Varlamov, who made 27 saves on the night.
Varlamov has given up exactly two goals his past three starts on a combined 89 total shots against (.977 save percentage.) Varlamov has learned more about how to win in the NHL this year than he ever did in Washington.
He has experienced the highs and the lows on an Avs team that is not as talented as the Capitals. He has sat on the bench for long stretches to watch how Giguere approaches the game and, finally, it appears he is learning. He lost the ADD nature to his game, calmed down and is playing outstanding as a result.
The Avs have won four in a row now and are just one point behind the San Jose Sharks (who have three games-in-hand on the Avs) for the seventh seed of the playoffs, three behind struggling sixth-place Chicago Blackhawks.
Considering, the power of the O'Reilly line and the pure talent of Duchene, Stastny and Hejduk with the talent of Peter Mueller, Mark Olver and David Jones on the "third" line, things are trending up for the Avalanche.
Three Stars
1. Matt Duchene- goal, five shots, 11 total put toward the net. What else do you want?
2. Semyon Varlamov- 27 saves on the night. He looked big and very focused in net
3. Gabriel Landeskog- two more assists, two more pluses (now plus-22); really an average night
Facepalm of the Game
Jan Hejda begrudgingly had to get this one. He overcommited on Bobby Ryan and screen Valamov from keeping the save. Hejda was plus-3 overall and played a good game overall.
Bang Bang Play of the Game
Hejduk to Stastny, over Fowler, to Duchene hitting it in from a half an inch off the ice.
Colorado Avalanche Blogger • 
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