Paul Stastny is one of those guys who never seems to get too excited, and maybe that's why he was able to keep his composure and score those two big goals in the Avalanche's 5-4 overtime win against Minnesota on Thursday. He netted the tying goal with 13.4 seconds left and the winner at 7:27 of the extra period.
"It was exciting," he said Friday after a handful of players skated, "but today we have to focus on what we have to do to be better (in Game 2 Saturday). Winning that first game was huge and now we have to focus on the next game."
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Stastny became the first player in Stanley Cup playoffs history to score a tying goal in the final 15 seconds of regulation and win the game in overtime. He has five goals --two game winners -- and six assists in 16 career playoff games. This is what coach Patrick Roy said Friday about Stastny:
"He's been a leader from the get-go. The guys look up to him, they have a lot of respect for Paul. (Captain Gabriel Landeskog) is very close to Paulie and has a lot of respect for him, and Paul has been a great leader for us from the start. He scored two goals, but he played a really good game."
Roy was asked about Stastny's contract status and if the Avalanche ever considered moving him at the trade deadline. Stastny is in the final year of a contract that pays him $6.6 million and he will be eligible for unrestricted free agency July 1. But Stastny has said many times that he would prefer to stay in Colorado.
"Quite honestly, it was not even close for us to make a trade, to move Paulie," Roy said. "We said all along we didn't want rental players, and the only one we would keep is Paul because we believe that Paul wants to stay as an Avalanche and we believe that there's a chance for him to re-sign with us. Now, how it's going to happen, it will be up to Joe (Sakic) and his agent to discuss. I think Paul has the Avs in his heart and I think he loves to be in this town, he loves the fans."
Stastny, who played two years at the University of Denver and won a national championship in 2005, repeated his desire to re-sign but said he's focusing on the present.
"I hope so," said Stastny, who set up Landeskog's first-period goal. "I'm here to win. I don't really care what's going on with that stuff. It's all about this team and what we've been doing and what we've done all year and what we can keep doing."
Roy pulled goalie Semyon Varlamov for a sixth skater with 3:01 remaining in the third period and there was never a chance of calling a timeout at any point after the Wild iced the puck a couple of times.
"There's an icing and the same (Wild) line's out there," Stastny said. "I think the same way. If there's a timeout, they can rest their top defensive guys and they'll be fresh. I just think when you call timeout you might catch your breath, but it's a lot easier playing offense when (the opponent is) tired from playing defense. They're going to make mental mistakes, we have an extra guy, and we have to take advantage."
This is what Landeskog had to say about Stastny after Game 1:
"He played well and I think he’s got high expectations of himself and he puts a lot of pressure on himself and certainly he wants to be that guy. Tonight he was and I think he’s been one of our best players all season and he’s been very consistent all year long. Great to see him put two in tonight.…
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Defenseman Erik Johnson and partner Jan Hejda struggled for good portions of the game. Johnson's first-period giveaway led to the Wild's first goal by Charlie Coyle. Johnson and Hejda were caught flat-footed behind the net when Matt Cooke fed Kyle Brodziak for a 4-2 Minnesota lead late in the second.
But Johnson made amends by hustling to prevent Erik Haula's long clear from entering the Avalanche's empty net with 1:32 to play and he took the shot with time running out that resulted in a rebound for Stastny to convert for the tying goal.
"Originally, I didn't think it had a shot to go in," Johnson said of Haula's attempt. "It skipped and took a couple of bounces and I didn't think I could get to it. I just turned on the afterburners and it turned on its edge, and I was able to make a last-ditch effort."
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Eleven Avalanche players made postseason debuts Thursday: Johnson, Landeskog, Tyson Barrie, Patrick Bordeleau, Paul Carey, Marc-Andre Cliche, Nate Guenin, Nick Holden, Nathan MacKinnon, Brad Malone, PA Parenteau.
"I thought they did a pretty good job," Roy said. "I remember my first game and you're a little bit nervous. Even if you think you're well prepared, you're always a little bit nervous and anxious to see how things are going to go. Breaking the ice is sometimes the toughest thing to do."
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Here's a feature story I wrote on Nathan MacKinnon that is on NHL.com following his three-assist performance in Game 1.
The story was running long, so I left out these comments by Landeskog:
"What a game he had!" he said of MacKinnon, who played 22:44 and was plus-3. "You couldn't tell it was his first playoff game. I certainly think he brought his best game and was using his speed and taking the defensemen wide. That's what we need from him."
Roy made some line changes after the Wild took a 4-2 lead in the second period. MacKinnon went from centering Ryan O'Reilly and Parenteau to right wing with Landeskog and Stastny. O'Reilly went to the middle for one of the few times this season, skating with Parenteau and Jamie McGinn.
"Paulie and I have played quite a bit with him this year," Landeskog said of MacKinnon. "We know how he likes to play and we like to play with him as well. He uses his speed and creates some room for me and Paulie. We were playing against (Mikko) Koivu's line and we weren't getting those offensive chances we wanted. Sometimes all you have to do is switch around a little bit. Certainly we needed that in the third and it paid off."
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Nothing new to report on injured centers Matt Duchene (knee) and John Mitchell (concussion). Defenseman Cory Sarich (back) is making progress.
Roy said Duchene and Mitchell are working with the training and medical staff and "everything is going well for them, but they're not close to playing."
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The Avalanche was outshot 2-1 on four power plays. Counting the five regular-season meetings, Colorado has gone 0-for-15 on power plays against the Wild.
"Our power play needs to be better, especially in playoffs," Landeskog said. "Special teams are huge. Our power play needs to step up. We had a few big chances in the third and we need to make them pay if they take those penalties."