On a day that began with Avalanche players mingling with fans at the ticket windows, the team returned Saturday night to the Pepsi Center for the first time since May 4, 2004, with the words “Thank You Fans” adorning the ice.
The wait for those needing an Avs hockey fix finally ended. And, judging by the mostly full seats, not many intend to quit watching the team because of a canceled 2004-05 season.
The Avs opened their exhibition season with a 4-2 victory over the Dallas Stars. Avs captain Joe Sakic scored two goals, including the game-winner on the power play with 4 minutes, 15 seconds left in regulation.
“It was a fun night for everybody,” Sakic said. “It’s great to be back in front of our fans. Most exhibition games aren’t that big a deal, but this one seemed a little different.”
It’s still far too early to draw conclusions about much of anything with the latest edition of the Avs, but the team’s work ethic doesn’t seem to be a problem. New coach Joel Quenneville’s stated goal is for the Avs to be the best conditioned and hardest-working team in the NHL. Against the Stars, that seemed to be the case.
A mix of Colorado rookies and veterans came out flying, getting a goal 30 seconds in by Sakic and another 2:20 later by newcomer Patrice Brisebois.
“I think we did some good things out there,” Brisebois said. “I think the power play and penalty killing are going to be huge this year. We still need to maybe do the simple things on the PP, but we still haven’t practiced that much and I thought we moved the puck pretty well.”
As promised, much about the look of the new NHL was different. Watching the goalies being able to play the puck only in a zoned-off trapezoid area was different. The skinnier neutral zone, down four feet in space, was different. Watching the referees call penalty after penalty for even the most minor tug on the jersey certainly was different.
The game Saturday was mostly brief interludes between power plays. The Avs were hurt more often in the second and third periods, which created a lot of work for goalie David Aebischer. It wasn’t a problem, as Aebischer looked sharp in relief of starter Peter Budaj. Aebischer stopped all 13 shots he saw, including a breakaway by Mike Modano.
“It was nice to be back out there in this building,” said Aebischer, who did not allow a goal in his stint Friday night in the Burgundy-White game. “It was a good game on both sides, but it’s always nice to win any game, even though it doesn’t count in the standings.”
Budaj, the favorite to win the backup goalie job, looked good in the first period but allowed two goals by Dallas’ Jussi Jokinen in the second., both by Jussi Jokinen.
After Aebischer turned back a 5-on-3 power play, Sakic converted on an Avalanche 5-on-3 for the winner, tapping home Alex Tanguay’s rebound. The Avs had nine power plays in all, the Stars seven.
First cuts
Before the game, the Avs sent 10 players to their respective junior and minor-pro teams.
Reassigned were Daniel Da- Silva, RW, Lowell (AHL); Chris Durand, C, Seattle (WHL); Tom Lawson, G, Lowell; Mitch Love, D, Lowell; Jason Lynch, D, Spokane (WHL); Ray Macias, D, Kamloops (WHL); Frantisek Skladany, LW, Lowell; Tomas Slovak, D, Lowell; Mikko Viitanen, D, Lowell; and Tyler Weiman, G, Lowell.
Dallas 0 2 0 – 2
Colorado 1 1 2 – 4
First period – 1, Colorado, Sakic 1 (Tanguay, Blake), :30.
Second period – 2, Colorado, Brisebois 1 (Finger), 2:50 (pp). 3, Dallas, Jokinen 1 (Modano, Robidas), 4:22. 4, Dallas, Jokinen 2, 9:46.
Third period – 5, Colorado, Sakic 2 (Brisebois, Svatos), 15:45 (pp). 6, Colorado, Svatos 1 (Richardson), 19:28 (en).
Shots on goal – Dallas 9-7-7-23. Colorado 16-8-10-34.
Goalies – Dallas, Hedberg, Ellis. Colorado, Budaj, Aebischer.
A – N/A. T – N/A.
Staff writer Adrian Dater can be reached at 303-820-5454 or adater@denverpost.com.
