The Avalanche on Thursday recalled Brad Richardson from Albany, and Colorado coach Joel Quenneville said he hoped Richardson’s brief stint in the American Hockey League would rejuvenate the 21-year-old forward.
“We want to see him play harder,” Quenneville said of Richardson, who did not play against the Calgary Flames at the Pepsi Center. “Well, not necessarily harder, but we want to see him come up with more loose pucks. We’ll play him in the role where that line should give us some energy in the course of a game, and that’s something he does. … We want more overall consistency, and we saw that last year from him.”
Richardson was sent down to Albany on Jan. 3, when Colorado recalled Ben Guite and installed him on the fourth line and used him with the penalty-killing unit. Guite has played well for the Avalanche, but with Antti Laaksonen continuing to struggle and scratched again against the Flames, Colorado found room for Richardson.
First-round bout
A fight developed about five minutes into the game between Ian Laperriere and Flames defenseman Dion Phaneuf. Laperriere took exception to Phaneuf’s dangerous check on Avs forward Brett McLean against the boards.
McLean, trying to clear the puck out of the zone, probably didn’t see Phaneuf coming, and McLean’s head bounced awkwardly off the wall after Phaneuf’s unpenalized hit from the side.
Laperriere raced after Phaneuf and provoked a fight with a high crosscheck. Both were sent off for fighting majors, but Laperriere also got a minor for cross checking. The Flames did not capitalize on the power play.
Footnotes
Avs defenseman Karlis Skrastins played in his 476th consecutive NHL game, 10 shy of the record held by Tim Horton of the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1961 to 1968. … Colorado entered the game 4-2 in its burgundy “third” sweaters. … Marek Svatos’ first-period goal gave him eight points (five goals) in six career games against the Flames. Svatos produced his first career hat trick in 2005-06 against Calgary.
