Avalanche Can't Crack Greiss, Coyotes
The official game recap Colorado Avalanche vs Phoenix Coyotes.It doesn't seem to matter whether Phoenix Coyotes coach Dave Tippett chooses to use Thomas Greiss or Mike Smith in goal when playing the Colorado Avalanche.
Both have enjoyed a great deal of success against the Avalanche, a trend that continued Tuesday at Pepsi Center when Greiss made 29 saves in the Coyotes' 3-1 win for his fourth career victory against Colorado without a loss.
Antoine Vermette supplied all the offensive support Greiss needed with two second-period goals, and the Coyotes pulled within one point of the eighth-place Avalanche in the Western Conference. The Coyotes have a 17-8-5 record and 39 points in 30 games.
The loss was the second in a row and third in four games for the Avalanche (20-9-0), who have played one fewer game.
The teams combined for all four goals in a 7:01 span of the second period after a scoreless first period, and the Coyotes scored three of them. Vermette began the scoring spree at 8:31 and ended it at 15:33 to give the Coyotes a two-goal lead heading to the third period.
Greiss kept the Avalanche off the board with a number of tough saves, including one on a breakaway against Andre Benoit, and his teammates rewarded him.
Vermette scored on a power play to open the scoring when he skated to the net, got inside position on Avalanche defenseman Nate Guenin, and converted a pass from Keith Yandle.
Jordan Szwarz made it 2-0 at 12:06 when he put in the rebound of Jeff Halpern's shot while moving down right wing with Avalanche forward Patrick Bordeleau after goalie Semyon Varlamov made a pad save.
Bordeleau cut the deficit in half at 14:28 with his career-high fourth goal after Cody McLeod battled Coyotes defenseman Michael Stone behind the Phoenix net. When Stone tried to clear the puck, it hit Bordeleau and caromed off Greiss' left skate before sliding across the goal line.
The Coyotes responded 1:05 later. Mikkel Boedker outraced Avalanche defenseman Nick Holden for the puck in the corner, circled from behind the net and passed to Oliver Ekman-Larsson for a shot on goal. Varlamov made the stop, but Vermette fired the rebound into the net for his ninth goal of the season.
The Coyotes got a scare at 6:09 of the period when Bordeleau checked Mike Ribeiro into the boards. Ribeiro fell to the ice and was in obvious pain, but he returned shortly after and assisted on Vermette's first goal.
The Avalanche failed to score on two power plays and are 0-for-22 in their past eight games.
-- by Rick Sadowski for NHL.com --
Eurolanche.com, Worldwide, eurolanche@eurolanche.com
11/12/2013 - 06:00
