Avs beat Caps for fifth straight win
The official game recap Colorado Avalanche vs Washington Capitals.As their name suggests, the Colorado Avalanche are rolling and show no signs of slowing down.
Nathan MacKinnon scored his first NHL goal and Semyon Varlamov made 40 saves in his return to Washington, leading the Avalanche to a 5-1 victory against the Washington Capitals at Verizon Center.
Colorado is now 5-0 for the first time since the franchise moved from Quebec to Denver in 1995.
Alex Tanguay's first goal of the season gave Colorado an early 1-0 lead. Working a give-and-go with Gabriel Landeskog, Tanguay received the pass at the left circle and snapped the puck towards Capitals goalie Michal Neuvirth. Tanguay's shot deflected off John Carlson's outstretched stick and past Neuvirth at 6:42.
Nearly eight minutes later, the Avalanche took a 2-0 lead just seconds after failing to score on their first power play. Matt Duchene collected Ryan O'Reilly's pass in stride near the red line, charging down the right-wing boards before Mike Green, serving a high-sticking minor, was released from the penalty box. Duchene's lightning-quick backhand-forehand deke eluded Karl Alzner, and Duchene had just enough space to roof a short-side snap shot over Neuvirth's shoulder for his third goal.
Washington thoroughly outshot Colorado in the second period, putting 19 shots on Varlamov, but he stymied them at every turn, most impressively a right-pad save on Tom Wilson during a scramble in front. With a late power-play opportunity to swing momentum, the Avalanche took advantage when Paul Stastny found MacKinnon in the slot for a point-blank goal. The 18-year-old punctuated his first career goal with a leap into the boards as his teammates mobbed him in celebration.
MacKinnon's goal was the third first career NHL goal that the Capitals have allowed through five games; Chicago's Brandon Bollig and Carolina's Elias Lindholm scored the others.
The Capitals entered the third period with time remaining on a power play and a chance to cut into their three-goal deficit, but it was Tanguay who scored shorthanded from a sharp angle to give the Avalanche a 4-0 lead. Eric Fehr responded 44 seconds later to ruin Varlamov's shutout bid, but Jamie McGinn restored the Avalanche's four-goal lead when he put PA Parenteau's cross-ice feed past Neuvirth just 21 seconds after Fehr's goal.
The Capitals set a season-high with 41 shots.
-- by Adam Vingan --
Eurolanche.com, Worldwide, eurolanche@eurolanche.com
13/10/2013 - 04:00
