The Avalanche got its first goal so fast Sunday night, the Colorado fans hadn’t yet gotten a chance to boo Todd Bertuzzi. Heck, a lot of them probably hadn’t even had their first sips or bites. And even more still were on the concourses.
When Milan Hejduk scored only 11 seconds into the game, Bertuzzi was on the bench, awaiting his first shift – and the “salutes” of various volumes that again came every time the Canucks winger touched the puck in the Avalanche’s 6-2 rout of Vancouver in the Pepsi Center.
Ultimately, Colorado’s top line had a big night, as:
* Joe Sakic got his eighth and ninth goals of the season, giving him 551 for his career and lifting him out of a tie with Ron Francis for the No. 20 spot on the NHL’s all-time goal-scoring list. He also pulled into a 13th-place tie with Bryan Trottier in all-time scoring, at 1,423 points.
* Hejduk, off to a slow start in the wake of the knee surgery that sidelined him for the first six games of the season, added an assist to go with his fifth goal.
* Alex Tanguay had three assists, including a soft pass that set up Hejduk for the quick goal.
“Both defensemen kind of stepped up and Alex made a great soft pass in the middle of them,” Hejduk said. “I was by myself in the slot and just got it by (Alex Auld’s) blocker.”
In getting their fourth straight victory over the Canucks this season, the Avs closed to within three points of Vancouver and two of Calgary in the Northwest Division. Hejduk’s jump- starting goal indeed was a harbinger that the Sakic-centered line would be productive, something that will have to happen consistently – and under the heightened standards of offensive expectations in the New NHL – if this Colorado team is going to be a playoff threat.
“They’ve been consistently giving us something every game,” Colorado coach Joel Quenneville said. “But we’re expecting nights like tonight, where they can get three or four.
“Hopefully, that’s a sign that all of a sudden, they can get on a roll.”
“All the lines have been clicking, except us,” Hejduk said. “We have to get it going and help the team.”
Hejduk often has looked as if he’s still trying to get his legs under him this season, and he acknowledged his start has been frustrating.
“It’s not much fun when you’re struggling, you try hard and it’s actually getting worse,” he said. “You don’t enjoy hockey that much when that’s happening.”
Hejduk said his knee injury probably was an issue, “but I don’t want to use that as an excuse, and it’s a combination of things.”
Colorado led 4-0 after one period and 4-1 after two, but the Canucks closed to within two on Bryan Allen’s goal at 8:14 of the third period. David Aebischer, who finished with 38 saves, was playing well, but the crowd – when not booing Bertuzzi – was getting a little nervous, perhaps wondering if they were about to see a reprise of Colorado’s early-season collapses. When Patrice Brisebois drew a delay-of-game minor for flipping the puck over the glass at 10:46 of the third, the Canucks seemed to have a prime chance to make it even more interesting.
Instead, Dan Hinote scored the short-handed goal at 12:34 that made it 5-2, and Sakic made it a laugher with his second goal 47 seconds later.
Bertuzzi had an assist on Allen’s goal. And that announcement drew boos, too.
