St. Louis – Dan Hinote didn’t score many goals in his six seasons with the Avalanche. But it didn’t take him long to score against the Avs on Thursday night, in his first career game against Colorado.
Hinote scored the game’s first goal in the St. Louis Blues’ 4-1 victory over the Avs, on the kind of move Avs fans didn’t see much from him – a slashing move that beat defenseman Patrice Brisebois and goalie Peter Budaj.
“Did I know what I was doing on that play? No, I had no clue where I was going with that puck,” Hinote said. “But it did feel pretty good, that’s for sure.”
Hinote, a fan favorite in Denver and a member of Colorado’s 2001 Stanley Cup-winning team, played 15:15 against the Avs, wearing his new number of 58 – a combination of his previous number with the Avs, 13.
Hinote came to the morning skate Thursday to visit some of his former teammates, despite a night of travel from Dallas.
“It was different playing against them,” Hinote said. “There are guys that I bled with over there and sweated with throughout the years. But you just block that out and try to play hard every shift.”
Hinote signed a three-year, free-agent contract with the Blues, and has become active in the St. Louis community – as he was in Denver.
“It’s a good city, good bunch of guys here, and I’m happy,” he said.
Footnotes
Paul Stastny’s Hall of Fame father, Peter, was at the game, as was Stastny’s mother. Peter Stastny originally was slated to miss the game for business reasons. … George Parros and Kurt Sauer were healthy scratches for Colorado. … Stastny’s five-game points streak came to an end. He was a minus-3 in the game. … The attendance was announced at 9,467, but there might have been only two-thirds that number in the building.
