St. Paul, Minn. – Paul Stastny had a mission.
As the other Avalanche skaters on the ice congratulated baby- faced defenseman Kyle Cumiskey following his first NHL goal Saturday night at the Xcel Energy Center, Stastny broke in on the Minnesota net, picked up the puck and claimed it for posterity – and Cumiskey’s personal memento collection.
Cumiskey, 20, who was recalled from Albany on Dec. 28, scored after breaking down the slot and converting an Andrew Brunette pass out from behind the goal line.
“I saw the puck going down in the corner and kind of crept in,” Cumiskey said after the Avalanche’s 2-1 shootout victory over the Wild. “Andrew made a nice pass, and it was back door and just had an open net to put it in.
“That definitely was a dream come true. I can’t even explain how exciting it was to score that.”
Avalanche coach Joel Quenne- ville said Cumiskey “had another nice game. He got our attention in training camp, and he’s kind of played on that same level since he’s been inserted in the lineup. That was a great anticipation pass by Bruno, and (Cumiskey) will end up scoring a few goals in this league.”
Turgeon sits one out
Pierre Turgeon got off to an impressive start after his recovery from offseason shoulder surgery and his return to the Avalanche lineup in early December. But after going six games without collecting a point, the veteran forward was a healthy scratch Saturday.
The game was the second in as many nights for the Avalanche, so it wasn’t shocking that the 37- year-old Turgeon sat as the Avalanche got winger Ben Guite, recalled last week from Albany, into the lineup.
Guite played one game for Boston last season, so it wasn’t his NHL debut, and he started out playing on a fourth line with Mark Rycroft and Ken Klee. He also did some work on the penalty-killing unit.
Footnotes
The Avalanche Community Fund presented $193,000 to eight area charities before Friday night’s home game against Tampa Bay. The eight recipients: Arapahoe House, Clinica Tepeyac, Denver Works, Energy Outreach Colorado, Jeffco Action Center, Jewish Family Services, Metro CareRing and the YWCA of Boulder. … The Avs have invited the fathers of coaches, players and staff members who usually travel with the team on the next road trip, for games at Anaheim on Saturday and San Jose on Jan. 15. All in the party have a choice of a golf outing or a winery tour in Northern California on the day between games.
