*Photo from Western Slope Now*
Welcome to the Colorado Avalanche Devan Dubnyk. Dubnyk saved 31 shots, JT Compher scored, and the Avalanche topped the St.Louis Blues with a 4-3 win Wednesday night to give Dubnyk the win in his first start with the Avalanche. Brandon Saad also scored for Colorado.
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare got the Avs on the board in the first to make it 1-0, but Vince Dunn then scored for the Blues to make it a 1-1 game after one period. In the second, Compher, Mikko Rantanen, and Saad all scored for the Avs to make it a 4-1 lead after 40 minutes of hockey. In the 3rd, Mike Hoffman scored twice for the Blues to cut the deficit to 4-3, but that was all the Blues could muster.
With Philipp Grubauer on the shelf due to a positive test for Covid-19, the Avs had to decide between two recently acquired goalies, Dubnyk and Jonas Johansson, to make the start. In the end, Dubnyk got the start, although both will get plenty of work, as Grubauer will be out for at least two weeks due to the positive test.
Avs coach Jared Bednar said of the decision to start Dubnyk that "We made the decision to go with Dubnyk because he didn't receive the vaccine or he already had it, not sure which is the case, and so he was feeling fine, better than most of our guys. Plus he's an experienced guy, he's played against St. Louis before, he's played in this building already this year, and I think that, you know, when you've got to lean on guys, you want to lean in on your veteran players, and that's what he was brought in to do. I thought he did a nice job for us."
Dubnyk stopped 31 of 34 shots in his debut with the Avalanche to get the win. He improved to 4-9-2 this season with the victory, while the Avalanche are still firmly in playoff position in the West Division, holding a 30-9-4 record, first place in the West.
Dubnyk said of his first start with the Avalanche that "It was OK. I think a little sloppy at the start, just the rebounds sitting around. Obviously, there were a few nerves for me with the new team. Got away with it and felt a little better, I settled in as the game went on."
On the other side, Jordan Binnington was tagged with the loss for the Blues, stopping 24 of 28 shots from the Avalanche. His record dropped to 12-12-5 with the defeat, while the Blues are hanging on to 4th in the West Division slightly, with a 19-17-6 record.
Hoffman said of the loss that "I think their goals, we gave them to them. A couple minor mistakes that they took advantage of. It's obviously a good hockey club over there. They're going to take advantage of any mistakes you make. It's tough to come back 4-1 against anyone, but especially against one of the top teams in the league."
The Avalanche host the Los Angeles Kings on Friday night, with Dubnyk expected to start.
Comments
Post a Comment