It was either the best game the Avalanche has ever played or the worst an opponent has ever performed. The truth is probably somewhere in between, but there is no doubt the Avs made good on their pledge to give a better accounting of themselves, starting with Wednesday night’s game against the Edmonton Oilers.
The Avs, with two points out of a previous possible 10, beat the Oilers 4-2 in front of a Pepsi Center about two-thirds full.
If not for some quality goaltending from veteran Dwayne Roloson, it could have been embarrassing for the Oilers, who were outshot 38-9 at one point in the third period before some late garbage time.
Joe Sakic scored for the second straight game, getting what for the Avs has been a rare power-play goal to put them up 3-0 midway through the second period. Milan Hejduk had a goal and two assists, and goalie Peter Budaj had an easy time in going 4-0 against Edmonton this season, and 8-1-2 in his career career.
“We did what we needed to do, which we haven’t done lately, which is be more physical and work harder for the puck,” Avs defenseman Scott Hannan said. “We played a solid game. But it’s only one game.”
Budaj has won his past two starts, while Jose Theodore has lost his past four. So, it will be interesting to see whether coach Joel Quenneville breaks up the goalie rotation he has had the previous 14 games, starting with Friday’s game against the San Jose Sharks.
Budaj won, but he probably didn’t stake a firm claim to retaking his No. 1 spot, allowing two goals in the final 13 minutes. When Shawn Horcoff made it 4-2 with about six minutes left, the Oilers still had only 12 shots on goal. Otherwise, it was all Avs, all the time.
“We didn’t come out; we didn’t compete at all,” Horcoff said. “We can’t wait to be down 4-0 and all of a sudden go out and start playing the game. We’ve got to demand more of each other in here.”
Hejduk’s playing status was in doubt when he missed the morning skate with a bad stomach. He got well fast and was probably the best player for the Avs on a night when they had many stars.
“We haven’t played so good lately, so tonight was very important that we at least play well, then hopefully get a win,” Hejduk said. “We came out quick, and that gave us confidence after that.”
Hejduk set up defenseman Brett Clark for a nice one-timer off the rush that made it 2-0 at 4:39, 25 seconds after Hejduk tapped in a rebound in front. Sakic beat Roloson with a point-blank wrist shot on the power play after a setup by Paul Stastny (two assists). Sakic set up Wojtek Wolski for a goal off the rush at 14:38, and Roloson was pulled after the period, having faced 36 shots.
“We hadn’t been satisfied with our play lately at all, so it’s good to get a win and some confidence back going forward,” said Wolski, who skated on a top line with Sakic and Andrew Brunette.
Said Hannan: “We’ve got a lot of talent on this team, but sometimes I think we’ve relied on that too much instead of just doing the hard, little things. We compete like we did tonight, and we should be all right.”
Avs Recap
Three stars
1. Milan Hejduk. Scored a goal and assisted on two others for the Avalanche.
2. Joe Sakic. Scored a power-play goal and assisted on another for Colorado.
3. Brett Clark. Scored a goal and had five shots on net for the Avs.
What you might have missed
The U.S. women’s ski team was in attendance.
Century mark
The victory was the 100th of Joel Quenneville’s Avalanche career as head coach (100-70-17).
Up next
At San Jose, Friday, 8:30 p.m.
Adrian Dater: 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com
