Richards lifts Red Wings past Avs
Official game summary of Stadium Series between Colorado Avalanche and Detroit Red Wings.Brad Richards, playing in his fifth NHL outdoor game, scored with 1:00 left to break a tie and help the Detroit Red Wings defeat the Colorado Avalanche 5-3 in front of 50,095 at Coors Field in the 2016 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series game Saturday.
Richards chipped the puck over Varlamov to score his seventh goal of the season. Tomas Tatar, Gustav Nyquist, Justin Abelkader and Darren Helm also scored for Detroit. Petr Mrazek made 24 saves.
The Red Wings (30-20-11) won their second straight game and are 2-0-2 in their past four. They are 2-1 in NHL outdoor games, including a 6-4 win in the 2009 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic against the Chicago Blackhawks at Wrigley Field.
Nathan MacKinnon, Tyson Barrie and Alex Tanguay scored for the Avalanche (32-27-4). Semyon Varlamov made 23 saves.
Abdelkader's goal, a redirection off his stick, Varlamov and in, at 13:28 gave the Red Wings a 3-2 lead that lasted 14 seconds. Tanguay scored at 13:42 with a one-timer off of a backhand pass from captain Gabriel Landeskog after the rebound of his shot popped out to him. Landeskog had the wherewithal to know Tanguay was to his right and he delivered a pass to set up the shot.
Colorado went on the power play 57 seconds later when Red Wings defenseman Mike Green was called for tripping Avalanche right wing Jarome Iginla but did not score.
The Red Wings tied the game 2-2 on Nyquist's goal off a no-look backhand from the right circle at 1:27 of the third period. The Avalanche turned over the puck in the corner and it wound hitting Detroit forward Riley Sheahan, landing on Nyquist's stick. His shot beat Varlamov over the goalie's left shoulder and past his head into the top right corner.
Barrie's goal, upheld after a coach's challenge, gave the Avalanche a 2-1 lead at 14:38 of the first period. Barrie got the puck in open space from Blake Comeau, made a move to get Mrazek to bite, and put a shot past him on the glove side as he was trying to dive back.
Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill initiated a review for goalie interference because Avalanche center Carl Soderberg was in the crease when Barrie scored, but the officials ruled that no interference took place before the puck crossed the goal line.
Tatar gave Detroit a 1-0 lead at 5:07. He got the puck when it bounced off Avalanche forward Shawn Matthias, who was unlucky when Soderberg's attempt to clear the puck out of the crease hit him.
MacKinnon scored at 7:44 by putting a wrist shot over Mrazek's glove and left shoulder into the top right corner of the net.
Detroit and Colorado combined for 25 shots on goal (14-11 in favor of Colorado) and 41 total shot attempts in the first period. The wind picked up in the second period and it became more of a territorial battle as the shots and chances decreased. There were eight shots (4-4) and 30 attempts in the second.
The wind continued to whip in the third period, and the teams changed sides with play stopped at the 10-minute mark.
Detroit's power-play problems continued; it was 0-for-5 with six shots on goal. The Red Wings are 0-for-17 on the power play in the past six games. Landeskog nearly scored a shorthanded goal in the second period but his shot hit the crossbar.
-- by Dan Rosen for NHL.com --
Eurolanche.com, Worldwide, eurolanche@eurolanche.com
28/02/2016 - 05:30
