Didn’t expect a sweep, did you? Not the way Arizona goalie Darcy Kuemper is playing.
The Avalanche outshot the Coyotes 51-23 on Saturday, spent gobs of time in the offensive end and still dropped a 4-2 decision in Game 3 of the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs at Rogers Place in Edmonton.
Counting shots that were blocked (27) or missed the net (14), the Avalanche had a ridiculous 92-39 advantage.
“It definitely speaks to Arizona’s grittiness and the way they’re playing and the commitment they have and the sacrifices they’re making, no question,… coach Jared Bednar said. “They’re getting in shooting lanes all over the place. I didn’t think we shot the puck particularly well for the amount of chances we had, the opportunities that we had. We probably could have done a better job there.…
Kuemper finished with 49 saves and the seventh-seeded Coyotes are back in the best-of-7 series, trailing 2-1 with Game 4 set for Monday.
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Here’s the schedule, all times MT
Altitude has waived the blackout for the first round, meaning fans in the Denver Metro area can watch all the games on the national networks.
Western Conference First Round
Game 1, Avalanche 3, Arizona 0 Game 2, Avalanche 3, Arizona 2 Game 3, Arizona 4, Avalanche 2 Game 4, Monday, 3:30 p.m. Game 5, Wednesday, TBD *Game 6, Friday, TBD *Game 7, Sunday, Aug. 23, TBD * If necessary
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“We knew it wasn’t going to be an easy series,… captain Gabriel Landeskog said. “We knew this wasn’t going to be an easy game. We’ll be ready for Monday. (Kuemper) made some saves, for sure. I think we can still make it harder on him and get in front of him and take his eyes away.
“It’s one of those things, you look back at all the scoring chances we had, any other different night I’m sure one of those goes into the net, or a couple of them at least. We’ve just got to stick with it, it’s as simple as that.…
Andre Burakovsky and Mikko Rantanen scored, and Pavel Francouz made 19 saves for the second-seeded Avalanche.
“I didn’t think we shot the puck real well,… Bednar said. “Now that it’s all said and done and you look at some of the chances and yet we don’t capitalize on them, we have to find a way to get in Kuemper’s eyes a little bit more. If he’s seeing them, he’s stopping them.
“He had a great night tonight. You got to tip your cap to him and the Coyotes. They forced us into a couple turnovers and capitalized on them and we couldn’t find a way to put enough shots into the back of the net.… The Avalanche turned the puck over on Arizona’s first two goals. Derek Stepan gave the Coyotes their first lead of the series at 6:29 of the first period. He shot from in front off a pass from Clayton Keller, and it certainly didn’t help that Francouz had his stick knocked out of his hands.
“First goal we turned the puck over in D-zone coverage and had guys go for a skate and they couldn’t get back, so we’re trailing right away,… Bednar said.
The Avalanche tied matters at 1-1 at 13:12 of the second period when Burakovsky's shot from the right point went in off Arizona defenseman Alex Goligoski just as a power play was expiring.
Burakovsky, who scored the game winner in Game 2, leads the Avalanche with three playoff goals.
Brad Richardson put the Coyotes in front 2-1 with 34 seconds left in the second following another turnover and a poor line change.
The Avalanche were all over the Coyotes in the third period, outshooting them 15-6, but they weren’t able to tie the game.
“We would love to find the back of the net with the chances we had today, especially in the third period,… Rantanen said. “I don’t know how many shots we got, but it’s just one of those things. You have to find a way.
“I wouldn’t be too worried if you look at the third period the way we played. With a better finishing night, I think we would have won that game.…
Arizona sandwiched two empty-net goals, one from Taylor Hall and the other from Lawson Crouse, around Rantanen’s goal with Francouz on the bench for a sixth skater.
Both teams were 0-for-3 on power plays.
Joonas Donskoi returned after missing Game 2 with an undisclosed injury, but he was pretty much invisible. He played 11:38 and didn’t have a shot on goal.
Vladislav Namestnikov was scratched after being injured Friday in a collision with Nathan MacKinnon.