A puck was used by Paul Stastny on Sunday night that eventually found its way into the back of the net. The net was not that puck’s final destination; it will forever reside on some trophy case in the Stastny home, signifying his first NHL point.
It happened at the 12-minute, 42- second mark of the first period of the Avs’ 3-2 victory over Vancouver at the Pepsi Center. Stastny last touched the puck before linemate Wojtek Wolski put it past Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo, giving him the assist.
After two pointless games that ended in overtime losses for Stastny and the Avs, Sunday’s milestone produced a big, gap-toothed grin from the 21-year-old center.
“It’s a little burden off the chest,” Stastny said. “I’m still looking for that first goal. But more important, we got that win. It was nerve- wracking at the end, but it was fun.”
Stastny became the fourth member of his family to score a goal for the Avalanche organization. His father, Peter, and uncles Anton and Marian starred for the Quebec Nordiques in the 1980s.
Footnotes
The victory was the 50th for the Avalanche against the Canucks (50-35-15-3). The only other franchise the Avs have won 50 games against is Carolina/Hartford (65). … Joe Sakic’s two assists gave him 87 points in 66 games against Vancouver. That is the most of any active player against the Canucks. … Canucks veteran Trevor Linden, on his team’s play Sunday and overall after three games: “Pretty sloppy play in the first two periods. We’re not up to where we need to be to put ourselves in a chance to win. We weren’t mentally sharp tonight, and that led to penalties.” … Sunday’s game was a sellout, the Avs’ 486th in a row.
