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Stastny scores twice, Varlamov solid in Avs' 11th win

November 2, 2013, 1:57 AM ET [13 Comments]
Rick Sadowski
Colorado Avalanche Blogger •Avalanche Insider • RSSArchiveCONTACT




You have to feel good for Paul Stastny, who has been getting plenty of grief for the past few years, mainly because he just hasn't lived up to the five-year, $33 million contract that expires after this season.

Not saying he's been worth it -- who really is for that kind of money? -- but the Avalanche center collected his second game-winning goal in the past two games Friday night, scoring in overtime in a 3-2 victory against the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center.

The 27-year-old center had one goal in the first 10 games, but he scored twice Friday, at 8:22 of the first period off a great pass from Alex Tanguay and with 1:24 to play in the 5-minute overtime on a give-and-go with Nate Guenin with a shot from the left faceoff circle that beat goalie Kari Lehtonen.

Stastny was at least as happy for goalie Semyon Varlamov, who made 27 saves, as he was for himself.

"There's been a lot going on with him, with the team in the last 24-48 hours, and sometimes the best thing is to just get in your comfort zone, and that's being on the ice," Stastny told reporters after the game. "When he's on the ice, when he's in net, he's focused on what he does. He gives us a chance to win every night and he was unbelievable again tonight."

Varlamov spent Wednesday night in jail after being arrested on domestic violence-related charges for allegedly beating his girlfriend. He accompanied the Avalanche to Dallas on Thursday following a court hearing in Denver. Varlamov posted a $5,000 bond and was given a restraining order to stay away from his girlfriend.

As for the winning goal ...

"I tried to shoot through the 'D'," Stastny said. "You don't score on these goalies unless you're flying, you make a perfect shot, or you use a screen. That's what I tried to do, use a screen."

The Avalanche took a 2-0 lead into the third period after team captain Gabriel Landeskog converted a pass from Nathan MacKinnon (the rookie's first point in six games) with 1:19 remaining in the second period.

But the Stars got third-period goals from Alex Goligoski at 3:57 and Tyler Seguin with 3:29 to play. The Stars went on a power play two seconds after Seguin tied the game when Landeskog was assessed a roughing minor to go along with his fighting major for exchanging blows with Alex Chiasson, but the Avalanche killed it off.

The Avalanche could have put the game away in the first period except for some outstanding play by Lehtonen. The Avalanche outshot the Stars 13-4 in the period and had two power plays, including a two-man advantage for 59 seconds when Lehtonen made a number of big saves.

Varlamov was excellent in the second and third periods, when the Avalanche sat back too much and was outshot by a combined 24-13 -- 16-8 in the third period.

"I think I am the luckiest guy in the world because I play in the NHL and I play for this team," Varlamov said. "I've got such good teammates, so I don't think about what's happening."

No question the Avalanche rallied around Varlamov.

"The guys wanted to do well for Varly," coach Patrick Roy said. "They wanted to play a strong game in front of him and I thought that was a great game from our team. We showed that we're a family and we stick together and we work hard together."

*****

Max Talbot, who was acquired Thursday from Philadelphia in exchange for Steve Downie, wore sweater No. 25. He logged 17:36 of ice time while playing right wing on a line with John Mitchell and MacKinnon. He had one shot on goal, two hits, won three of four faceoffs and played 2:29 while shorthanded in helping to kill off two Stars' power plays.

"He was great on the PK," Roy said. 'He and (Marc-Andre) Cliche blocked a lot of shots. And I think (Talbot) is going to be great for Nathan."

MacKinnon played 16:46, had four shots on goal to go along with his assist and he won three of four draws.

"It was fun, exciting," Talbot said. "I liked the atmosphere where even though they came back 2-2 in the third, the bench was just even keel. We just didn't panic and went for it. That's the feeling of a winning team, a team that's confident, a team that plays with a little bit of a spark, and it was a good feeling."

*****

Matt Duchene didn't score, but he had eight shots in 21:47 of ice time.

Nick Holden, in his first game of the season, had one hit in 4:39 of ice time as a fourth-line left wing.

*****

Here's hoping Downie will be OK. Playing his first game for the Flyers on Friday, he sustained a concussion during a fight with Washington's Aaron Volpatti late in the second period of the Flyers' 7-0 loss. Downie was assessed a minor for instigating, a fighting major and a 10-minute misconduct. He was taken to Pennsylvania Hospital for further tests and observation.

Looks like the Flyers really gooned it up, not that it did them any good.

*****

My NHL.com story on Adam Foote is on-line now.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=689590&navid=nhl:topheads

Among other things, he talked about not really liking his role as a shutdown defenseman until fairly late in his career, when he finally accepted it and learned to like it.

Foote's No. 52 jersey will be officially retired in a pregame ceremony at the Pepsi Center on Saturday night before the Avalanche plays the Montreal Canadiens.
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