Anaheim, Calif. – Of the six periods the Avalanche played here over the weekend, five were lopsided victories for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. That sixth and last one, however, goes to the Avalanche for overall play.
That third period had Avs players clinging to hope in the dressing room after Sunday’s 3-0 loss. The Avs want to build on a third period in which they outshot Anaheim 12-10 and nearly scored on rookie Ilya Bryzgalov.
“We could have easily won the period 2-0 or 3-0,” Avs left wing Alex Tanguay said. “We just couldn’t put the puck in the net. But we’re going home now, and hopefully we can build off that last period and we’ll have our fans behind us this time. All they did was win their two home games. We can do the same.”
Tanguay could have scored in the third when Patrice Brisebois set him up by the side of the net with a pretty backhand pass. But Tanguay missed the open-net tap-in when he failed to get much wood on his shot. Bryzgalov was able to slide across and close the floating shot to preserve his shutout.
“It just caught the top of my stick and fluttered,” Tanguay said. “I’d like to have it back.”
Rob Blake hit the post soon after, and Ian Laperriere was robbed on a one-timer in close, also set up by a Brisebois pass.
“Maybe we (are trying) to complicate things right now,” Laperriere said. “We need more traffic in front of him (Bryzgalov). He’s a big man, and when he gets a chance to see the puck, he’s going to make the save.”
Passing Giggy
With Sunday’s shutout, Bryzgalov passed teammate Jean-Sebastien Giguere on the list of the longest shutout sequences for a goaltender in one postseason. Bryzgalov’s shutout streak, dating to Game 6 of the Ducks’ first-round series against Calgary, is 229:42. That’s the fourth-longest in NHL history and a little more than 40 minutes short of the record set by George Hainsworth of the Canadiens in 1930.
Scratches and minutes
Joel Quenneville used the same lineup as Game 1. Pierre Turgeon was a healthy scratch for a third consecutive playoff game, along with Bob Boughner, Brad May, Cody McCormick and Jeff Finger. Kurt Sauer played 8:33 as the sixth defenseman.
Footnotes
The Avs will practice today in Centennial. …
Avs winger Andrew Brunette said he felt fine after missing much of Game 1 following a hit to his jaw from Anaheim’s Francois Beauchemin. Brunette got into it with Beauchemin in the first period behind the Ducks’ net and was assessed a roughing penalty. …
Laperriere has yet to score in the playoffs and has one assist in seven games.
Staff writer Terry Frei contributed to this report.
