CALGARY, Alberta — Twice this season the Avalanche has gone into third periods at the Pengrowth Saddledome even with the Calgary Flames. You’ll take it as the road team generally. Those third periods for the Avs, though? Not so much.
A scoreless tie after two periods finished in a 3-0 Flames whitewash of the Avs on Tuesday night, ending Colorado’s five-game winning streak and keeping the Avs winless against Calgary this season.
Curtis Glencross’ goal at 8:22 of the third was all Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff would need, but Calgary tacked on two more against an Avs team that just didn’t bring much to the table in the third period.
“It was a tight-checking game. It came down to them outworking us in the tough areas. That makes the difference in a hockey game like that,” said Avs winger Ryan Smyth, held to one shot in the game.
The Avs, in fact, put only two shots on net in the third period, after getting 20 through the first two. What happened?
“We just didn’t play well. We just got a little sloppy in our own end in the third, and that’s the area we can’t be sloppy in,” captain Joe Sakic said.
After nearly 50 minutes of everybody on the same page defensively, the Avs’ third line was a little behind the play in its own zone and it cost them the goal that broke a scoreless tie.
Calgary’s David Moss grabbed a loose puck behind the net and wheeled a backhand pass to the front of the net. The pass slid through the crease and goalie Peter Budaj (27 saves) was beaten to the opposite side by Glencross’ one-timer. Avs forward Marek Svatos was beaten to the net by Glencross, who had an easy tap-in.
“We kind of had some miscommunication on the play,” Svatos said. “I thought I had (Glencross). I was so close, but he had a step on me.”
Said Budaj about the goal: “I’m not sure that’s what they wanted to do on that play. Probably not, but I’m not taking anything away from Calgary. They played hard, and the third period, they came out and outplayed us.”
The Avs seemed to sag after the goal, and it wasn’t long before they paid again. Budaj was beaten on a short-side, stuff-in shot with 7:02 left. It was a bad goal, yes, but Budaj was not to blame for this loss. The offense couldn’t crack the Calgary defense much, mostly being held to the perimeter, especially in the third.
“I thought they were real sharp on their forecheck and they made plays from behind their net,” Avs coach Tony Granato said. “All three goals came from behind our goal line. They played hard. For 40 minutes, we played a real solid game. The last 20, they were obviously the better team.”
A little luck, though, and the Avs could have had a lead entering the third. Ian Laperriere hit the post with one slap shot, and Cody McLeod tipped a puck that missed by an inch in the second period, after a shot from the point by Brett Clark.
“We can’t make any excuses, though,” Smyth said. “It’s a loss.”
Adrian Dater: 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com
Avs Recap
Three stars
1. Robyn Regehr.
Flames defenseman played a solid 22 minutes, finishing plus-1.
2. Miikka Kiprusoff.
Flames goalie got the shutout, but had to make only two saves in the third.
3. David Moss.
His hardworking play set up Calgary’s first goal.
What you might have missed
The Avs’ top-two line of Joe Sakic, Darcy Tucker and Wojtek Wol- ski finished a combined minus-6.
Up next
Columbus, 7 p.m., Thursday at the Pepsi Center.
Adrian Dater, The Denver Post
