Sad news to report: Former Avalanche forward Marek Svatos has passed away at age 34. Much too young. No official cause.
Svatos was living in Lone Tree, Colo., a Denver suburb, with his wife and their two children.
Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic released this statement:
"The entire Avalanche organization is extremely saddened by this news. Marek was a tremendous person, a talented hockey player and a great teammate. Our thoughts, prayers and our deepest sympathy to his wife, children and his entire family."
A seventh-round pick (No. 227) in the 2001 NHL draft, Svatos played parts of six seasons in Colorado from 2004-10. A native of Slovakia, he had a goal and five assists in 11 playoff games in 2004, with 32 goals and 18 assists in 50 regular-season games in 2005-06.
Slowed by injuries, Svatos had 96 goals and 68 assists in 316 games with the Avalanche, with 2-5-7 in 14 playoff games. He ended his NHL career with Ottawa and Nashville in 2010-11. Godspeed, Marek.
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Semyon Varlamov will start in goal Sunday in St. Louis when the Avalanche (5-5-0, 3-3-0 on road) complete their third back-to-back set of the season following their 1-0 win Saturday against Minnesota.
Here are the GAME NOTES.
Calvin Pickard, in his first home start of the season, made 32 saves against the Wild for his second career shutout. He's gone 3-0-0 with a 1.67 goals-against average and .944 save percentage. The Wild's Devan Dubnyk had 31 saves.
"I thought we had a really good game all the way through," Pickard said. "Dubnyk was playing really well and I knew I had to limit my mistakes. We were doing all the right things, we just couldn’t score. We had to make this a big game for us against a good rival. We couldn’t let another game slip away from us."
Coach Jared Bednar said the plan all along was to play Varlamov against the Blues (6-4-2, 4-1-1 at home) even though he's allowed 15 goals in a four-game losing streak.
"We're kind of setting our goalie plan from week to week," Bednar said. "Because of the history of the situation, Varly is getting a good opportunity early here. We went into this week saying we're going to go Varly, Pick and then back to Varly. We want to play a rested goalie in back to backs because we believe in both of them.
"And then we'll get to a point where, we need results, so maybe we can ride a hot goalie for a little bit and see how it goes. We'll continue to evaluate it the same way."
Jake Allen is expected to start for St. Louis. Carter Hutton made 20 saves Saturday in a 2-1 overtime win against Columbus. Vladimir Tarasenko scored in overtime to end his seven-game slump.
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The Avalanche didn't need overtime, but Gabriel Landeskog scored his first goal in eight games, converting Matt Duchene's pass on a power play at 10:23 of the third period. Rookie Mikko Rantanen had the second assist for his first NHL point.
The goal was the first for the Avalanche in 164:48, since Jarome Iginla scored at 5:35 of the first period in a 5-1 loss to Nashville on Tuesday. They lost 4-0 in Chicago on Thursday.
"It didn't come easy for us, that's for sure," Bednar said. "Like Chicago, I thought we did a lot of good things. We had some breakdowns where we needed a save, but our guys stuck with it and we kept working hard, our compete level was where it needed to be from all of our guys. I don't think we had any passengers."
Said Duchene: "It's frustrating, we almost went eight periods with no goals. We just want to keep plugging away and the offense will come. We have too much talent for it not to."
The Avalanche caught a huge break with 48.9 seconds left in regulation when a Charlie Coyle goal was waved off because of goalie interference after Eric Staal pushed defenseman Erik Johnson into Pickard. The on-ice call stood after a video replay.
"I had a foot in my crease," Pickard said. "I tried to get over there a couple of times, there were just so many bodies in front of me. You could see their guy kind of pushed EJ into me. I think that’s the criteria for goalie interference, doesn’t let me do my job. I couldn’t slide over there."
Said Staal: "(Pickard) was way out. I’m trying to get out of the way, too, and (Johnson) is pulling me into the battle and pulls us back on top of the goalie. It’s a tough call, in my opinion. When I’m battling with a D-man, I’m not paying attention to where the goalie is. You’re just trying to get position. The goalie was in a terrible position. He was way out in the white.…
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Landeskog and Dubnyk scuffled at 4:37 of the third period. After Dubnyk slashed Landeskog on the leg at the top of the crease, Landeskog pushed back and the players went at it behind the net. The players were given roughing minors, but Dubnyk also was assessed a slashing penalty, putting the Avalanche on a power play that the Wild killed off.
“A little hack on the calf and it was my turn to give it back,… Landeskog said. “It was pretty even. I don’t think there’s a villain and a good guy in that fight. That blocker hurts. I wish I had a blocker in a situation like that, and he’s got a mask to protect himself. That stuff happens. It’s a division game and things are supposed to happen. Not a big deal.…
Said Dubnyk: "There’s emotion in the game. I battle with him every time we play. That’s his game. He’s a great hockey player that plays hard and he’s in and around the crease. Sometimes those get left alone, and sometimes he turns around and wants to continue going.…
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John Mitchell cleared waivers Saturday and centered the fourth line with Andreas Martinsen and Blake Comeau. He played 8:27, didn't have a shot and lost four of six faceoffs, but he had a big hit on Jason Zucker just before the Landeskog-Dubnyk altercation, plays that fired up the crowd and team.
Bednar said Mitchell, who missed the first five games with a hip injury, was waived for "flexibility" purposes.
"There's no immediate plan for him to go anywhere," he said. "He's part of our team, an important part. That's a little extra motivation for him. I think he can play better. To be fair to him, he hasn't played that much through training camp, he's kind of playing catch-up. I thought that was his best game. I know it's not a happy situation for him, but it's sometimes the way it goes in this game."