Chicago – In one dressing room, Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” blared, with jubilant victors back-slapping, high-fiving and flashing ear-to-ear grins. In the other, players did a slow burn.
The Avalanche was the former, after its 6-1 victory over the latter, the Chicago Blackhawks, on Thursday night.
To the Avs, they won with hard work and smart plays. To the Blackhawks, they were jobbed by referees on and off the ice.
“I don’t want to say too much about the referees, but they weren’t very good tonight,” Blackhawks veteran Martin Lapointe said.
At the center of contention were two plays that needed video review, and they both ended up favoring the Avalanche. The first, a goal by Brad Richardson early in the first period, came after he plowed into veteran Chicago goalie Nikolai Khabibulin. It looked like obvious goalie interference to the Chicago side, but after review, the puck that Richardson’s forward progress carried over the goal line stood.
“Obvious interference,” Lapointe said.
The second, and probably bigger situation, resulted in a Chicago goal being disallowed – and no penalty shot awarded. The Blackhawks looked to have tied the game when Patrick Sharp jammed home a loose puck – or, at least a penalty shot might have come his way after it appeared Avs defender John-Michael Liles closed his hand on a loose puck in the crease.
But after another review, despite the red light coming on and referees signaling a goal, the video review judge disallowed it.
“You know what, I tried (to knock the puck away), but I missed the puck with my hand,” Liles said. “It went underneath my hand. It looks like I got the puck, but it came and stayed (underneath) my chest there.”
The Blackhawks also complained of no review on Tyler Arnason’s goal, at 12:24 of the third period that made it 3-1 for the Avs. Arnason opened his skate and redirected Richardson’s crossing pass, but there was no kicking motion.
What can’t be disputed is that the Avs were, overall, the better team in the game. After another slow start, they dominated much of the last two periods with one of their better defensive efforts of the season. They broke up lots of plays with good stickwork, and were good at killing four Chicago power plays.
“I think the guys were responsible more in the middle of the ice,” Avs coach Joel Quenneville said. “I thought we’ve had two good games in a row as far as what we’re giving up.”
About the video reviews that went his way, Quenneville said: “Over the course of the year, I don’t know if we’re even, but we’re not complaining.”
The Avs played a great third period, outshooting Chicago 17-5 and scoring three goals in the last two minutes. Ken Klee, Mark Rycroft (for the third straight game) and Jeff Finger scored, with Finger’s being his first NHL goal.
“Unbelievable. My first NHL goal, just a dream come true,” said Finger, who was plus-4. “I’m really excited … don’t know what to say about it, just unreal.”
Adrian Dater can be reached at 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com.
Avs 6, Blackhawks 1
Colorado 2 0 4 – 6
Chicago 1 0 0 – 1
First period – 1, Chicago, Ruutu 14 (Havlat, Aucoin), 1:11. 2, Colorado, Richardson 9 (Liles, Finger), 7:43. 3, Colorado, McLean 10 (Hejduk, Klee), 10:44. Penalties – Rycroft, Col, major (fighting), 1:14; Richmond, Chi, major (fighting), 1:14; Cullimore, Chi (tripping), 4:07; Finger, Col (holding), 13:17; Vaananen, Col (holding), 18:08; Havlat, Chi (holding), 18:42.
Second period – None. Penalties – None.
Third period – 4, Colorado, Arnason 14 (Richardson, Laperriere), 12:24. 5, Colorado, Klee 3 (Sakic, Laperriere), 18:08 (en). 6, Colorado, Rycroft 6 (Guite, Parker), 18:43. 7, Colorado, Finger 1 (Stastny, Guite), 19:43. Penalties – Hejduk, Col (tripping), :40; Richardson, Col (hooking), 4:45.
Shots on goal – Colorado 6-9-17 – 32. Chicago 10-9-5 – 24.
Power-play opportunities – Colorado 0 of 2; Chicago 0 of 4.
Goalies – Colorado, Budaj 20-15-4 (24 shots-23 saves). Chicago, Khabibulin 20-20-5 (31-26).
Attendance – 10,522 (20,500). T – 2:28.
Referees – Mike Hasenfratz, Dennis LaRue. Linesmen – Derek Amell, Derek Nansen.
DENVER POST THREE STARS
1. Jeff Finger – Avs defenseman scored his first NHL goal and was a plus-4.
2. Brad Richardson – Scored a controversial goal, assisted on another and finished with four shots.
3. Mark Rycroft – Scored a goal, had a fight but failed to get an assist – and the “Gordie Howe Hat Trick.”
WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED
By assisting on Finger’s goal with 17 seconds left, Paul Stastny extended his points streak to 14 games.
NEXT
at Detroit, Sunday at 10:30 a.m.
