Sparks Fly In Avs' Win Over Coyotes

Down four players and facing adversity after Colorado Avalanche rookie defenseman Samuel Girard struck in the face, the Avs responded in a big way.
Colorado tallied four goals in less than four minutes following the altercation, which included a pair of fights, and went on to defeat the Arizona Coyotes 6-2 at Gila River Arena on Saturday night.

"I think those guys did a real good job coming together and executing and scoring a couple big goals on that, which kind of set the tone for the rest of the game for us," said Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar. "Got us the lead that we needed so we could continue to play.
The quarrel that sparked the offensive onslaught by the Avs came nearly nine minutes into the second period after Nathan MacKinnon was hit hard by Arizona's Zac Rinaldo in the neutral zone. MacKinnon was bent over assessing how hurt he was when Girard came up to defend his teammate. Girard grabbed onto Rinaldo, who already had his gloves off and delivered a punch to the face of Girard before the rookie had time to react.

Girard immediately collapsed to the ice, which sparked more fireworks as Erik Johnson jumped in to fight Rinaldo while MacKinnon and the Coyotes' Josh Archibald also tussled.
"Nate stepped up for G, and G stepped for Nate. E.J. was there," said defenseman Nikita Zadorov. "That's what we're showing, we have a great team, great friends on the team. We stick up for each other. That is part of hockey."

After everything was squared away, four players were give five-minute majors for fighting, while Archibald and MacKinnon were given game misconducts based on Rule 46.7, "Fighting After the Original Altercation." Johnson was able to return to the ice after serving his infraction.
Rinaldo was ejected from the game after being handed a match penalty, which according to the rule book is "imposed on any player who deliberately attempts to injure or who deliberately injures an opponent in any manner." In addition, according to Rule 21.2, "the player shall be automatically suspended from further competition until the Commissioner has ruled on the issue."
Girard joined MacKinnon down the tunnel to the locker room to get checked on by the Avs' training staff, which had worked on injured defenseman Tyson Barrie earlier in the game. Barrie didn't return due to a hand injury, but Girard eventually came back to the ice for the remainder of the middle period.
"That's a good sign for your team when they're standing up for one another," Bednar said. "Obviously, we don't really want MacK and E.J. doing that every night, but in that circumstance, they took exception to it. Coming together as a team. Other guys stepped up to get the job done on the power play as those guys got to take a rest for a little bit."

So there the Avalanche was, down three of its D-men and its top-line center, and facing 4-on-4 play against a young, hungry Coyotes club.
No problem. Cue the secondary scoring.
Carl Soderberg scored on a nice wrist shot during the 4-on-4, and J.T. Compher tallied on a power play 1:16 later. The Avs ended up with three minutes worth of power-play time following the two minutes of even play due to Rinaldo's match penalty.
Nail Yakupov added a second man-advantage tally 1:50 later on a backhand shot that squeezed past goaltender Antti Raanta, who was pulled from the net in favor of Scott Wedgewood. That didn't seem to matter as Matt Nieto scored 40 seconds after Yakupov to net the Avs' fourth goal in 3:46.
"It was pretty hectic when we got that power play because we lost Johnson, Girard and Barrie, all at the same time," Bednar said. "So the power play was kind of a mix-matched group."

It was the first time that Colorado had scored four goals in 3:46 or less since March 8, 2004 when it did it in 1:39 against the Vancouver Canucks.
"I think our goals gave us some momentum," said Soderberg, who added another marker in the third period for his first multi-goal performance of his six-year NHL career. "It got us some confidence too, and we played very well on the power play and got that 4-0 lead."
The Avalanche now enters the NHL Holiday Break on a nice little roll with a 5-2-1 record in its last eight contests. The team is in the hunt for a playoff spot, only three points out and with games in hand on several of the clubs above it in the standings.
When Colorado returns from the break, it begins its longest homestand of the season against these same Coyotes. Will any bad blood carry over or will the players be in a forgiving mood with the holidays?
The answer to that will be revealed Wednesday at Pepsi Center.

DEFENSE STEPS UP AFTER BARRIE'S INJURY

Before the two fights left the Avalanche with a shorter bench, the team was already dealing with a smaller defensive corps after Tyson Barrie got hurt in the first period.
Barrie blocked a shot nearly six minutes into the game and was rushed to the locker room for further examination. He was then ruled out for the rest of the contest, and head coach Jared Bednar didn't have a positive update on the blueliner following the contest.
"He broke his finger, hand. I haven't got the whole lowdown on it yet," Bednar said. "He has a fracture in his hand."
The other five defensemen stepped up in Barrie's absence. Four of them played more than 20 minutes, while Girard skated 17:19--he did missed time in the second period while being checked for an injury.
"When you get down to five D like that, short shifts," Erik Johnson said. "As a group, we got to talk a little bit more."
Nikita Zadorov might have had the biggest presence on the ice, as he had five shots on goal on 13 total attempts and finished with three hits and three blocked shots while playing a game and season-high 26:42.
"It kind of gets me going, probably," Zadorov said of his physical play after the outing. "I'm playing hard. I'm focused every play. I'm skating, I'm physical with my legs, and I guess it's my game."

POWERING UP

Colorado entered Saturday's contest 30th in the league on the power play while on the road, but the club potted three in Arizona that will certainly better its standing.
It was the first time the Avs have scored three power-play goals in a game since Feb. 11, 2016 at the Ottawa Senators.
J.T. Compher and Nail Yakupov tallied while Colorado was a skater up during its four-goal run in the second period, and Sven Andrighetto scored on the man advantage at 8:37 of the third period.
The Avalanche is much better at home on the power play, as the club is sixth in the NHL with a 26.8-percent conversion rate.

JOHNSON RETURNS

After serving his two-game suspension, Avs defenseman Erik Johnson returned to the ice for the first time in a week.
The only thing that Johnson could do on the ice for the previous six days was practice after the NHL Department of Player Safety announced its ruling last Sunday. Johnson's punishment was from a cross check that he delivered to Vladislav Namestnikov the day before that forced the Tampa Bay Lightning forward to crash hard into the boards.
Colorado stepped up without it workhorse on the backend by beating the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday and then falling in overtime to the Los Angeles Kings in a tight-checking affair on Saturday.
"That was kind of a blessing I think in a way to see the guys play so well," Johnson said before the contest in Arizona. "For me, it is tough when you're not playing and the guys aren't doing well, but the guys played really well and that made it easier on me. Made it a little bit easier to sit out those two games."
Johnson played 22:45 and had four shots on goal, three hits, two blocked shots and nine penalty minutes in his return.