What has turned into a magical season for the Avalanche continued Sunday night with an impressive 4-1 win against the Washington Capitals at the Pepsi Center that included timely goals along with superb work from the penalty-killing units and another solid performance from goalie Semyon Varlamov.
The Capitals came in on a 4-0-1 roll and with the best power play in the NHL, but they went 0-for-4 with the man advantage. The Avalanche killed off three penalties in the third period, including a five-on-three power play that lasted 56 seconds while nursing a 2-1 lead.
Max Talbot, Jan Hejda and Nate Guenin were on the ice for most of the five-on-three after Cory Sarich was penalized for hooking and the Avalanche was hit with a too-many men infraction. John Mitchell, Cody McLeod and Marc-Andre Cliche also were strong penalty killers Sunday.
"I think our penalty killing has been very good since the start of the season," said Hejda, who logged 20:59 in ice time -- 5:46 while shorthanded -- had four blocked shots and was a plus-3. "As a penalty-killing unit we all believe that we can change a game. It usually helps the whole team. My feeling is, especially when you kill a five-on-three, it's the same as when we score a goal."
Varlamov, who made 40 saves in the Avalanche's 5-1 win in Washington on Oct. 12, stopped 33 shots in the rematch against his former team. He made seven saves each against Alex Ovechkin and Mike Green.
"It was great, especially against my old team," said Varlamov, who has won nine of his 11 starts. "It’s always tough to play against Washington. They have so many good players, the best power play in the league, but I think we did a great job and that’s why we got a positive result.
"The guys did an unbelievable job for me. They blocked shots. This team, they’re unbelievable right now, on the PK especially. I appreciate what they’re doing for me. We start this game very well, the guys give me confidence and scored a couple of good goals." PA Parenteau gave the Avalanche a 3-1 lead at 8:12 of the third period, shortly after they killed off back-to-back Capitals power plays. Matt Duchene fended off Washington's Marcus Johansson behind the net and passed to Parenteau for a goal and some breathing room.
Gabriel Landeskog closed out the Capitals with 1:40 left in regulation when he scored from the right circle after squeezing by Ovechkin along the boards at the blue line.
"I thought we had an outstanding performance from the entire team," coach Patrick Roy said after his team completed a four-game homestand with three wins and improved its Central Division-leading record to 14-2-0. "I really like the commitment that our guys made. It was a great team effort again. We played as a team and our fans were part of our team tonight. They brought a lot of emotion to our team." *****
The Avalanche got goals from two unlikely sources, defenseman Nick Holden and fourth-line right wing Patrick Bordeleau.
Holden, playing because Ryan Wilson is sidelined with a back injury, scored the first goal of his NHL career to break a 1-1 tie at 16:16 of the second period. It was also his first point and came 28 seconds after Joel Ward scored for the Capitals. Ward controlled the puck when it caromed off the end boards after Mikhail Grabovski won a faceoff in the right circle. He moved unchecked through the slot to chip it inside the left post at 15:48.
Holden, playing in his third game this season and the 10th of his NHL career, was in the left circle when he converted a pass from Landeskog with a wrist shot.
"I closed my eyes and got lucky," Holden said. "It's nice that it was the game winner, but does it make it anymore special? I don't think so. Scoring my first NHL goal is a dream and I'm glad we won the game. I think from start to finish we kind of took it to them. We came into the game where we wanted to get pucks deep and eliminate their offensive time and I think we did a good job of doing that.…
Bordeleau scored at 2:50 of the first period when he deflected in Cody McLeod's high backhand shot for his second goal of the season and fourth in 62 career NHL games. The Capitals protested that Bordeleau's stick was above the crossbar, but the goal was allowed to stand after a video review.
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The Capitals got a huge scare at 17:34 of the second period when Ovechkin fell awkwardly into the boards in the corner while he was being checked by Hejda. Ovechkin lay on his stomach for a while and eventually went to the bench, where he showed his displeasure at a non-call with some angry words at the officials.
"I think it was a trip," Ovechkin said. "Hit my head on the board. It was a clear two minutes and a dangerous play."
Said Hejda: "He goes to the corner and I think the puck was under his legs. I'm 100 percent sure I had my stick on the ice and he steps on my stick. He fell and then I fell over him. There wasn't any intent on this situation."
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With a 14-2-0 record, the Avalanche has the best start through 16 games in franchise history. The previous best start of 13-3-0 was set by the Quebec Nordiques in 1994-95.
“When we lose, we forget about it," Duchene said. "When we win, we forget about it. I mean, you take the lessons and you move on to the next day. We’re playing like we’re a .500 hockey team and not a 14-2 team and I think that’s the key. You stay grounded and you stay humble and hungry all the time. We love winning right now, it’s so exciting, it’s so much fun."
The Avalanche plays the next two games on the road, Tuesday in Carolina and Thursday in St. Louis, before returning home Saturday to face Florida.
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Center Paul Stastny had an assist, giving him 270 for his career to move past Alex Tanguay into sole possession of eighth place on the franchise's all-time list. He has two goals and an assist in a three-game point-scoring streak.
Duchene had an assist, giving him a four-game points streak with two goals and four assists. He has five goals and five assists in the past seven games.
Parenteau's goal stretched his point-scoring streak to four games. He has three goals and two assists in the streak.