ST. LOUIS — In homage to “Slap Shot” goalie Denis Lemieux, the question must be asked:
“Who own the Avalanche?”
And the answer is: Two Missouri-based men. One is entrepreneur Stan Kroenke. The other is St. Louis goaltender Manny Legace.
In the lowly Blues’ 5-2 win over the Avalanche Thursday in the Scottrade Center, Legace had 24 saves, most notably one memorable grab of a Marek Svatos shot in the first period.
After Legace’s record in 18 career games against Colorado improved to 14-3, the long-time member of the Red Wings again displayed his dry and self-effacing sense of humor when downplaying the early save. Svatos got off a wrist shot from the right-wing circle after T.J. Hensick slid him a pass on an odd-man rush.
“I just want to say thank you to (Svatos), he hit my glove,” Legace said with a smile. “I came across and he put it right in there.”
Colorado lost both games on the road trip to Columbus and St. Louis, but has the solace of now having the next eight at home, sandwiched around the all-star break, beginning tonight against Ed-monton. That stretch will be crucial in determining whether the Avs, who have less ambitious goals these days than in the heyday of the franchise, will make the playoffs.
Considering that the similarly injury-riddled Blues sit 15th and last in the Western Conference, the Avs’ defeat had to be considered a lost opportunity. After falling behind 3-0 in the first minute of the third period, the Avalanche at least staged a comeback, getting third-period goals from Cody McLeod at 2:18 and Milan Hejduk at 8:54 to make it interesting. Hejduk and linemate Ryan Smyth now both have 299 career goals.
After Blues center T.J. Oshie, who also had two assists, got the power-play goal that made it 4-2 at 14:52 of the third, Avalanche coach Tony Granato pulled goalie Peter Budaj, with Colorado on a power play that followed Brad Winchester’s penalty for high-sticking at 16:16 of the third.
But with the Avs holding the 6-on-4 advantage, David Backes’ empty-netter for the Blues at 17:55 put the lead back to three goals and left the St. Louis fans celebrating the free Dairy Queen treat they get when the Blues get five goals.
“Legace made some big saves to give them the chance to get going,” Granato said. “They capitalized on their opportunities and special teams were the difference in the game.”
The Avs were 0-for-4 on the power play, the Blues 2-for-3. It didn’t help that even Granato conceded that Budaj, who had 21 saves in his first start since Jan. 4, “has had better games. . . . I think the guy on the other side made the big saves when he had to. Obviously, he won the goaltending battle tonight.”
McLeod at least was in the center of the action in the game in more ways than one, getting his ninth goal of the season after he started by dropping the gloves with Winchester at the opening faceoff.
“I was just trying to get some energy for the team,” McLeod said. “Tough loss in Columbus, and I just tried to come out hard and get the boys fired up.”
That didn’t work, either.
Terry Frei: 303-954-1895 or tfrei@denverpost.com
Avs Recap
The Post’s three stars
1. T.J. Oshie.
The Blues’ rookie center from Warroad, Minn., had a goal and two assists.
2. Manny Legace.
Did allow two goals, but early saves set the tone.
3. Jay McKee.
Blues defenseman was a plus-2 and did significant work on the penalty kill.
What you might have missed
St. Louis, already without forwards Paul Kariya, Andy McDonald and Yan Stastny and defensemen Erik Johnson and Eric Brewer, also didn’t have veteran center Keith Tkachuk in the lineup against Colorado. Tkachuk was knocked woozy in a collision against Calgary on Tuesday, but the Blues said he hadn’t suffered a concussion.
Up next
Vs. Edmonton, Pepsi Center, tonight, 7:30
Terry Frei, The Denver Post
Edmonton at Colorado
7:30 p.m. tonight, ALT, KCKK 1510 AM/KRCN 1060 AM
Spotlight on Erik Cole: A major disappointment for much of his first season with Edmonton, Cole has been hot lately, getting a hat trick in Tuesday’s win at Washington. Going into the game Thursday at Minnesota, the right winger had 11 goalseight of them in Edmonton’s 12 most recent games.
NOTEBOOK
Oilers notes: Winger Ales Hemsky hasn’t played since taking a hit from Nashville’s Jordin Tootoo on Dec. 28. Hemsky is practicing again, but he can’t shake the concussion symptoms. Despite his absence, he still is leading the Oilers in scoring. . . . The Oilers also will be playing their third game in four nights.
Avalanche notes: This is the first of an eight-game homestand for Colorado, with three before the all-star break. . . . Colorado coach Tony Granato on Thursday said the word in Denver was that the injured Adam Foote (triceps) and Ian Laperriere (back) were making progress, probably won’t be available against the Oilers but might be ready for the Sunday game against Calgary. . . . General manager Francois Giguere arrived in St. Louis after going to Cleveland to watch the Lake Erie Monsters play Wednesday night. Terry Frei, The Denver Post
