Postgame Wrap-Up: Grubauer Strong In Avs Win Over Hurricanes

RALEIGH, N.C.--Facing a team that consistently fires a high number of shots on net, the Colorado Avalanche relied heavily on its goaltender to get the win against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Philipp Grubauer finished Saturday's matinee with a career-high 42 saves and the Avs defeated the Hurricanes 3-1 at PNC Arena.
"Without the way he played tonight, we wouldn't have won this hockey game," said Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog. "We got two big points on the road, but we know that we need to play better defensively than what we did tonight. He was outstanding, and honestly it was one of the better goalie performances I have seen in a long time."

The Hurricanes outshot the Avalanche 11-7 in the first period and finished the outing with a 43-22 edge in the category.
Midway through the first period, the Hurricanes found themselves with extended time in their offensive zone, but they couldn't solve Grubauer as the goalie denied a Teuvo Teravainen one-timer to keep the game scoreless.

"I just felt like early in the game we had some jump, but we had some breakdowns and he made two or three, four big saves in the first period," head coach Jared Bednar said of the German netminder. "I would say two or three early on in the first five, six minutes in the game, and it gave us a chance to kind of get our legs underneath us and settle in and tighten up.
"You know, we were a little bit capitalistic tonight. I don't like relying on our goalie as much as we did, but we also did some good things. They are a team that is tops in the league in shots on net per game. They like to chuck it from everywhere, it's part of their offensive scheme, but he made some big saves for us, there is no question."
It was Grubauer's second-consecutive start in net, as he was coming off a 30-save performance versus the New Jersey Devils on Thursday.
The 26-year-old is 2-1-0 to start the season with a .925 save percentage and 2.68 goals-against average.
"In terms of playing as a whole group I think we did an unbelievable job again today. We just need to make sure, like in the last period, that we don't let them hang around," said Grubauer. "It was good that we got another one in. You got to make sure you make the right decisions--get the puck out 100 percent, get the puck in, don't make any turnover on the blue lines. I think we did a really good job for the most part, but we got to make sure we bring the same performance to the table next game."

The Avalanche went 5-for-5 on the penalty kill in the outing and is 35-for-39 (89.7 percent) this season, ranking fourth in the NHL.
Colorado went to the penalty box four times in the third period, but Grubauer remained strong in net, making nine saves while the club was shorthanded.
"We are able to identity who is on the ice, who is dangerous, who has a dangerous shot, what pass can they make," Grubauer said of killing penalties. "I think we had a lot of penalties again today, like in last period we took a penalty we give them a chance to hang around but we killed it off and that's been huge. At the same time, you put a lot of pressure on those guys, they are out there for a couple minutes and then if you take another penalty again--so we got to stay out of the box, but they did a great job again."
AVS TOP LINE STAYS HOT: Colorado's top line of Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen combined for six points in the victory in Carolina. The trio has accounted for 38 points (17 goals, 21 assists) and 48.1 percent of the Avs' offense this season.
"That line is working hard. Mikko extends his assist streak tonight, MacK gets on the board again--I think the only game he hasn't scored in is Jersey, and he had three assists," said Bednar. "Landy finds a way to get us a win in Jersey, has a big night and comes out tonight firing again. He is around the net, he is shooting the puck."
MacKinnon helped open the game's scoring as he carried the puck into the offensive zone and passed it back to Landeskog, who scored on a sneaky shot at the end of the first period.

"I don't know if I am doing anything different other than working hard and trying to get in scoring areas," Landeskog said of scoring five goals in Colorado's last two outings. "In New Jersey, you got to get in front of the net and my linemates are really good hockey players and they were able to find me.
"Tonight, it was Nate making a good play on the first one, driving their D back, and all of a sudden I was kind of skating by myself. Second one was kind of a broken play, I was trying to hit Mikko backdoor and it came back to me."
Rantanen and MacKinnon each have 14 points this season, tied for second in the league entering the Saturday evening contests.
They each extended their season-opening point streaks to eight games, becoming just the second set of teammates in franchise history to open a season with simultaneous eight-game point streaks. They join Joe Sakic and Anton Stastny, who accomplished the feat in 1988-89 with the Quebec Nordiques.

BARRIE MOVING UP AVS FRANCHISE LEADERBOARD:Barrie's assist on Landeskog's second tally put him tied with Sandis Ozolinsh for third place among franchise defensemen in scoring with 253 points.
Colorado's fourth selection (third round, 64th overall) in the 2009 NHL Draft, Barrie has 61 goals and 192 assists in 414 games.
MATINEE MATCHUPS:The contest marked the first of 13 afternoon games that the Avalanche will play this season (5 p.m. local start time or earlier). It is the club's most matinee affairs since 2002-03 when it had 15.
The Avs played 12 afternoon games last season, including seven at home, and finished 6-4-2 overall in day games.
DANO MEETS AVS IN CAROLINA:Colorado claimed forward Marko Dano on waivers from the Winnipeg Jets on Monday before the club left for its current four-game road trip, and the forward was officially added to the Avs' active roster on Friday.
After getting his immigration paperwork settled, the 5-foot-11, 212-pound center joined the club in Carolina on Saturday. His first practice with the team is expected to be on Sunday in Philadelphia.
He played 23 games with the Jets in 2017-18, tallying three points (two goals, one assist). Dano has 45 NHL points (19 goals, 26 assists) in 130 career outings in the league with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Chicago Blackhawks and Winnipeg.