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Giguere blanks Penguins; Avs 8-1

October 22, 2013, 12:10 AM ET [25 Comments]
Rick Sadowski
Colorado Avalanche Blogger •Avalanche Insider • RSSArchiveCONTACT




Yeah, I guess Avalanche coach Patrick Roy made the right decision to start Jean-Sebastien Giguere in goal Monday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins rather than Semyon Varlamov.

Maybe there really is a Fountain of Youth and Giguere, 36, spent some time there in the offseason. He was simply terrific at the CONSOL Energy Center, making 34 saves -- 13 on seven Penguins power plays -- in the Avalanche's 1-0 win. The Penguins limited the Avalanche to a season-low 14 shots.

That's two shutouts in three starts, all on the road, for Giguere. He has a 0.67 goals-against average to go along with a .981 save percentage.

Then again, who needs a Fountain of Youth when you have Francois Allaire as your goalie coach. Roy won two Stanley Cups with him in Montreal and Giguere had him in Anaheim, where he won one Cup and earned the Conn Smythe Trophy in his other trip to the Finals.

"I think he's the best," Giguere said of Allaire during a postgame interview with Pierre McGuire on NBC Sports. "If you ask my opinion, (he's) a future Hall of Famer. He should be there easily. He's changed the ways goalies have played in the last 30 years. For me, it's great because it's giving me new energy at the end of my career. For Varly, it's giving him a good foundation. He has all kinds of talent. He's super quick, has good reflexes and is very athletic."

Now 8-1 overall, the Avalanche has outscored teams 14-4 while winning all five road games, one more than the team won all last season away from the Pepsi Center.

Captain Gabriel Landeskog scored the game's only goal at 5:26 of the second period after serving a hooking penalty. He accepted a pass from Ryan Wilson after exiting the penalty box and, using Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik as a screen, took a shot from near the top of the right circle that eluded goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. Landeskog has scored a goal in three consecutive games after failing to hit the back of the net in the first six games.

The Avalanche has yet to allow a goal in 24 shorthanded situations on the road and has killed 35 of 38 penalties overall.

But let's face it, the Avalanche continues to give up way too many shots and way too many quality scoring chances. Giguere faced 39, 30 and 34 shots in his three games. Varlamov has faced an average of 32 shots in his six games, including 41 shots in a 5-1 win in Washington on Oct. 12.

"I knew it was going to be a difficult game for me, so you have to be ready and you have to be on your toes," Giguere said of Monday's game. "I felt really good tonight.

"Right now we believe in ourselves, we believe in each other and we believe in our system. Guys are energized. Patrick has a good energy, a positive energy. We needed a good start (to the season) after what happened last year. I don't know if it's going to last, but we have a very good feeling right now and we're going to keep it going as long as we can."

It was the first time the Penguins were shut out at CONSOL Energy Center in a regular-season game in which Sidney Crosby played. The Penguins had played 87 consecutive regular-season games without getting blanked since a 1-0 loss at Toronto on Feb. 1, 2012.

*****

While the Avalanche's team defense needs to improve, how about some props for defenseman Jan Hejda? He played 27:32 Monday, 8:42 while shorthanded, had six blocked shots and four hits. He hardly looks like the same player who had a minus-17 plus/minus rating two years ago, his first in Colorado after leaving Columbus to sign as a free agent.

Speaking of defensemen, Wilson and Cory Sarich had assists on Landeskog's goal, giving Avalanche defenseman 14 points (three goals, 11 assists) in nine games.

*****

So much for the much-hyped faceoff between Avalanche rookie Nathan MacKinnon and Crosby.

MacKinnon had two shots on goal in 10:54 of ice time and he lost five of seven faceoffs.

Crosby was definitely dangerous with seven shots in 26:40 of ice time and he also won 17 of 28 draws while being kept off the scoresheet for the first time this season. They'll meet one more time, April 6 at the Pepsi Center in the Avalanche's final home game of the regular season.

Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin had eight shots while playing 24:52. In other words, Crosby and Malkin combined to outshoot the Avalanche 15-14.

*****

Left wing Cody McLeod will be eligible to return to the Avalanche lineup Nov. 2 when the Montreal Canadiens visit the Pepsi Center. After sitting out Saturday in Buffalo and Monday in Pittsburgh, McLeod has three games remaining on his five-game suspension.

NHL Director of Player Safety Brendan Shanahan handed McLeod his punishment for his hit against Detroit Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall in last Thursday's game. McLeod was assessed a major boarding penalty and a game misconduct. Kronwall was wheeled off the ice on a stretcher and sustained a concussion and cuts on his ear.

According to reports out of Detroit, Kronwall has made such good progress that he is expected to be medically cleared in time to play Wednesday against Ottawa.
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