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Avs knock off reeling Sabres to remain unbeaten on road |
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Rick Sadowski
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The Avalanche got off to a strong start Saturday night and knocked off the reeling Buffalo Sabres 4-2 to equal last season's road victory total of four.
After going a miserable 4-16-4 on the road last year, the Avalanche has won all four road games this season while outscoring opponents 13-4.
The Avalanche will take a 7-1 overall record into Monday night's game at Pittsburgh. The Sidney Crosby-led Penguins are also off to a 7-1 start.
"It's totally different this year," said center Matt Duchene, who collected his sixth goal of the young season to go along with an assist. "We haven't looked back at last year. We kind of flushed that one down the toilet. It's a brand-new start with (coach) Patrick (Roy) and the coaching staff and with some new guys we've gotten on our squad now. All our young guys are that much older and we're humming along nicely right now."
Colorado was all over the Sabres in the first period, outshooting them 14-3 while grabbing a 2-0 lead on goals from Ryan O'Reilly and Gabriel Landeskog that came 3:13 apart. Duchene slipped the puck through the slot to O'Reilly on the left side for a chip shot by goalie Ryan Miller, and Landeskog scored on a wraparound after powering between defensemen Mike Weber and Jamie McBain.
"We needed a good start and that's exactly what we got from our guys," Roy said. "The message was clear: if we played as hard as we did against Detroit (in Thursday's 4-2 home loss), we're going to win a lot of games. We wanted to jump on them. We knew they were a little shaky from their losses."
The Sabres, who are 0-5-1 at home and 1-8-1 overall, didn't register their first shot on goal until Drew Stafford finally forced goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere to make a save with 5:51 remaining in the opening period. That drew mock cheers from the First Niagara Center crowd of 18,422.
But the Sabres played much better after Duchene scored a power-play goal 56 seconds into the second period. Cody Hodgson got that one back for Buffalo at 5:31 with a hard shot from just inside the blue line. Miller robbed PA Parenteau moments later before Paul Stastny scored his first of the year at 8:34 to give the Avalanche a 4-1 lead.
Marcus Foligno's goal at 1:05 of the third period gave the Sabres some life, but Giguere was solid after that and picked up his second win in as many starts on the road.
The Sabres outshot the Avalanche 27-12 over the final two periods and 30-26 for the game.
"Sometimes in hockey when you take a 3- and 4-1 lead, the tendency is to sit on it," Roy said. "These are things that we've been learning and I think it makes us a better team. But I'm very happy about where we are.
"We had great goaltending in the second and the third (periods). I thought our guys played well defensively in the first. In the second we started to back up and we were not moving as much. (The Sabres) changed it a little bit, got their 'D' more involved and they were doing a good job. I'm pleased. We needed a strong start and we got that from our guys."
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The O'Reilly-Duchene-Steve Downie line accounted for two goals, three assists and 11 shots on goal.
"We're so deep up front that it's hard for anyone to focus on just one line," Duchene said. "My linemates are playing unbelievable with me. We're having a good go of it right now. I think we have a little bit of everything on that line. 'Downs' is a pretty gritty guy; he gets into the other squad quite a bit and makes room for Ryan and I. Ryan is so defensively responsible, I can take a couple chances every now and then, and he's such a good passer.
"I just try to bring my speed and my offensive ability and play a good 200-foot game. I think those three things are the key for me. So far things are going well, but it's just the start."
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Defensemen Andre Benoit, Erik Johnson and Ryan Wilson each had an assist, giving the Avalanche blue line corps three goals and nine assists in the first eight games.
Defenseman Jan Hejda didn't have a point Saturday, but he had two hits, two blocked shots and logged 22:11 in ice time. He helped kill off all three of Buffalo's power plays with 3:55 of time while shorthanded. He's quietly having a very good year.
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Former Avalanche coach Joe Sacco, who had a 130-134-30 record with Colorado, is now an assistant with the Sabres.
“ I enjoyed my tenure when I was there,” Sacco told the Buffalo News before the game. "I was with the organization for eight years, coaching in the minors and then with the Avalanche. That’s a long time with one organization. I have a lot of friends who are still there. They’re playing very well right now. They’re getting good goaltending, much like we are.
"Obviously the records are flip-flopped, but it’s an opportunity for us to play another young team that’s sort of up and coming, heading in the right direction.”
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Detroit Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall is making good progress while recovering from the concussion he sustained on Avalanche left wing Cody McLeod's hit in Thursday's game.
"I feel really good, actually, under the circumstances," Kronwall told Detroit reporters Saturday after riding a stationary bike in Glendale, Ariz., where the Red Wings lost 5-2 to the Phoenix Coyotes. "No issues so far. So far, so good."
Kronwall accepted some responsibility for what happened because he was turning along the boards to gain possession of the puck when he was hit.
"I shouldn’t have put myself in that situation,” he said. “(McLeod's) a forechecker. He’s one of their more physical guys. He’s just trying to do his job, and I’m putting both of us in a bad spot."
McLeod is on indefinite suspension pending his hearing Monday in New York with NHL Director of Player Safety Brendan Shanahan.
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