UPDATE: Avalanche right wing Tomas Vincour practiced Sunday, so his foot is OK. He had X-rays Saturday night after getting hit with a puck in the third period of the Avalanche's 4-3 win against Carolina at the Pepsi Center.
Yes, the Avalanche were happy about their come-from-behind win against the Hurricanes before a crowd of 17,208. Down 3-1 after one period, they regrouped and pulled out their third win in the past four games.
But the Avalanche (7-9-5) are still last in the Central Division and have plenty of work to do to climb back into the Western Conference playoff picture.
"It's a nice win, but big deal," coach Patrick Roy said. "We have to be ready for Arizona."
The Avalanche next play Tuesday against the Coyotes in Glendale, Ariz., then meet Chicago at home Wednesday before taking off for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Roy apparently had more than a few choice words for the team after the first period, when the Avalanche fell behind 2-0 and 3-1, and goalie Reto Berra (three goals on 10 shots) was yanked at 16:50 in favor of rookie Calvin Pickard.
"It was a very tough first period," said Jarome Iginla, who tied the game with 5:17 left in regulation and set up Zach Redmond's winning goal with 1:35 to go. "There was a lot said. Nobody was happy with the way the first period went. All the way around, all of us weren't sharp. You can imagine Patty wasn't too happy. I thought from there on every single guy was going."
Based on both goalies' play against the Hurricanes, Pickard could get the start Tuesday if Semyon Varlamov hasn't recovered from his groin injury.
Why not? Pickard, 22, stopped all 17 shots he faced for his first NHL win and made the save of the game at 5:20 of the second period when he made a twisting glove stop against Alexander Semin to prevent the Hurricanes from taking what probably would have been an insurmountable 4-1 lead.
"Calvin made a phenomenal save," Roy said. "Sometimes there's key moments in games and that was one of them."
Said Pickard: "I definitely got lucky on that one. Our defender got a stick on (the original shot) and it went through my 5-hole and hit the post. I just seemed to twist around. It was right there and I just tried to get my glove there. Desperation.
"With the time I've been here, I'm feeling more and more comfortable. I got a taste of it in Ottawa and Montreal (in October). With every game and every practice here it's such a good thing for me and I'm definitely feeling more comfortable."
Erik Johnson, who logged 25 minutes and had a terrific game, pulled the Avalanche within 3-2 at 8:25 of the second period with a shot through traffic 2 seconds after a power play expired. (The Avalanche, who had the only power plays of the game, went 0-for-4 and are in a 1-for-27 slump with the man advantage in a nine-game stretch.)
Iginla had gone 12 games without a goal before he scored the tying goal and he passed to Redmond cutting down right wing for the winner and his second goal of the game.
"We had talked about it earlier on a power play, me creeping down there," Redmond said. "I was able to time it right and he put a perfect pass on my tape and made it easy for me. It's hard for forwards to read D-men coming down back door, especially when everyone is gripping their stick tight in the last minute."
Iginla scored the tying goal after taking a pass from Gabriel Landeskog in the right circle. He found the back of the net for his first goal since Oct. 24, when he had his only other two goals this season in a 7-3 rout against Vancouver. Goalie Cam Ward was screened by Nathan MacKinnon, who had a career-high three assists.
"It's been a while," said Iginla, who moved into a tie with Sergei Fedorov for 48th place on the NHL's all-time scoring list with 1,179 points. "I know I have to produce more and I want to. Landy made a great play to me on that goal. He gave me a nice pass and I just tried to shoot quick. Nate was there and screened the goalie.
"It was pretty cool, but Nate was flying the whole period. We know, especially in these one-goal games, we've got to find ways to produce. I thought everybody turned it on from the second period to get ourselves back in it."
Roy on Iginla: "I'm sure he's going to feel good about that game, it's good for him. I think he was working hard, but things were not clicking for him. Hopefully that's going to help his confidence."
Iginla was the only member of his line to score a goal, but MacKinnon and Landeskog combined for five assists. The trio had seven shots and each player was a plus-2. MacKinnon won eight of 14 faceoffs and has taken over the team lead in scoring with 16 points (five goals, 11 assists). He has all five goals and seven assists in the past 10 games. "There is a responsibility when you play in the top six," Iginla said. "You get the minutes, you get to be on the power play. We're not happy with the way we're producing at this point. I shouldn't speak for everyone, some guys are going really well, but I know I have to be better. So hopefully this was a spark for all of us."
Redmond played 19:44, had four shots and also scored in the first period when his attempted pass from the bottom of the left circle hit Carolina defenseman Andrej Sekera's skate and bounced into the net.
*****
Called up from Lake Erie on Friday, the Andrew Agozzino-Ben Street-Vincour line combined for two assists, four shots and a plus-3 rating. Agozzino, in his NHL debut, played 9:45 and also assisted on Redmond's goal. Street played 12:08, had three shots and lost nine of 15 faceoffs. Vincour played 9:37.
*****
The Avalanche are 10-0-2 (two ties) in the past 12 home games against the Carolina franchise. They've won nine consecutive games at the Pepsi Center. *****
Former Avalanche defenseman John-Michael Liles opened the scoring with a shot from the left circle that beat Berra to the glove side at 3:48 of the first period. He played 19:43 and was plus-2 in his first game at the Pepsi Center since his trade to Toronto in June 2011.
"It was pretty emotional," he said. "I spent eight years here with a lot of great friends, made a lot of great memories, and it’s a different feeling being on the visiting side. It would’ve been nice to get the win along with the goal, but it was still a nice feeling coming back to this building and getting the start from coach too."
Hurricanes coach Bill Peters put Liles and two other former Avalanche players, forwards Jay McClement and Brad Malone, in the starting lineup. A nice touch.