Columbus, Ohio – The Avalanche needed a win and David Aebischer got one for it.
Marek Svatos had a goal and two assists, Andrew Brunette added a goal and assist, and Aebischer stopped 35 shots to help the Avalanche beat Columbus 5-0 on Friday night, handing the Blue Jackets their seventh loss in a row.
The Avs had lost a season-high three in a row coming in.
“It’s good to win. It’s a bonus to get a shutout,” Aebischer said after running his record to 5-0 against Columbus with his 34th career shutout. “I had three below-average games. But I came back tonight and played well.”
Ian Laperriere, Brad May and Joe Sakic also scored and Pierre Turgeon had two assists as Colorado improved to 15-0-1-1 against the Blue Jackets since Columbus came into the NHL five seasons ago.
“We won the puck right off the bat and didn’t wait for them to get the momentum,” Turgeon said. “When you give them a little bit of light, all of a sudden they feel better and they play better. We got the lead right off the bat, and obviously we built on that.”
It was another sorry showing for the Blue Jackets, who have not led in 420 minutes. They have lost 11 of 12, including five straight at home. They hit the road for a three-game trip having lost nine in a row away from Ohio.
“Everyone’s sick of losing,” Columbus defenseman Bryan Berard said. “It’s no fun. We’ve got to score some goals.”
The offense ranks last in the NHL as the Blue Jackets continue to try to find goals without top scorer Rick Nash, defensemen Adam Foote and Rostislav Klesla, and goaltender Marc Denis, all out with injuries.
“We made mistakes, and they put them in the back of the net. And we can’t get a goal,” Blue Jackets coach Gerard Gallant said.
