Have to feel good for Tyson Jost, who finally was able to celebrate scoring a goal following a three-month drought.
Twice.
Jost, who had gone 36 games without a goal since scoring against Chicago on Nov. 30, scored in the first and second periods Friday in the Avalanche’s 3-2 win in Carolina.
He’d like nothing better than to find the back of the net again Saturday in Nashville as the road trip continues.
"It was definitely a relief,… Jost told the Avalanche web site. “I knew it was going to come soon. I'm confident in the player that I am. I know I went through a little bit of a slump, but I knew it was going to go in. Trust my work and trust my abilities. It was awesome, I'm not going to lie. It did feel really good."
The Hurricanes scored twice in the third period to forge a 2-2 tie, but Samuel Girard put the Avalanche ahead for good with 2:37 left in regulation. Vladislav Namestnikov picked an assist, his first point since his trade from Ottawa on Monday.
The Avalanche have won five games in a row and seven straight on the road, the latter matching the franchise record that was set Jan. 10-Feb. 7, 1999.
"No player wants to go through that,… Jost said of his drought. "I put a lot of pressure on myself, and I want to be the best player I can be and sort of contribute to this team. I think it's even more frustrating when you feel like you're doing all the right things, and it's just not going in for you.
“It definitely weighs on you, but it definitely helped me mature. I'm sure I became a better player, person, whatever you want to call it, over this little stretch. I don't want to be satisfied, I want to keep going here and keep producing."
Pavel Francouz made a career-high 45 saves and has a 1.18 goals-against average and .961 save percentage during his five-game streak.
Andre Burakovsky returned Friday after missing two games with an illness/upper body injury. He played 14:52 and had one shot on goal.
Nashville has won three in a row and gone 6-1-1 in the past eight games.