It never got as loud as it did before the game. But the fact that it even got close says all you need to know about the Avalanche’s season opener Thursday night.
On a night when 19 was the big number, the Avs used a roster sprinkled with other teens to beat the San Jose Sharks 5-2 on Joe Sakic Night.
After Sakic’s No. 19 officially was raised to the Pepsi Center rafters, the Avs raised the roof with an electrifying first two periods and survived a third period in which referees gave the Sharks a two-man advantage for a full two minutes.
If the future is as good as it was promised in the opener, maybe it won’t be unthinkable that Sakic’s banner won’t be the last one raised by the Avs for a long time.
“It was definitely a great night for Joe. But it was pretty exciting watching some of the kids we had out there too,” said Avs defenseman Adam Foote, after playing his first game as the team’s new captain. “I was a little worried at how we might come out, but they came out flying. It seemed like we were a team that wanted the puck a little more than last year.”
The Avs got two goals from left wing Wojtek Wolski, and one each from Darcy Tucker, Cody McLeod and John-Michael Liles, and goalie Craig Anderson was outstanding in his Avs debut with 38 saves — 19 in the third period.
New coach Joe Sacco now has a career NHL record of 1-0, one he admitted he’ll long remember.
“It was just a unique night,” Sacco said. “It started off with a bang, obviously, with a lot of energy in the building and a lot of excitement. Joe was a special player obviously. And then it just kind of carried over.”
Rookie Matt Duchene, who took the opening faceoff in the game, notched his first career point at 12:17 of the second period, getting the second assist on Liles’ shot from near the blue line that wound up being the final goal of a game.
Duchene elicited a couple of ooh’s and ahh’s from the fans, including a steal and breakaway early in the third period that nearly resulted in his first goal. Officially, Duchene finished a minus-1 — the result of a first Sharks goal that was the fault of a Kyle Cumiskey turnover — and won only 38 percent of his faceoffs. But nobody who saw Duchene play didn’t come away impressed.
“I thought he got better as the game went along,” Sacco said. “You could see his confidence getting bigger.”
Duchene, who grew up idolizing Sakic and the Avalanche, was running on adrenaline well after the final whistle.
“It was a great night. Nabokov had my number a little bit. But it’ll come,” Duchene said. “In the first, I was a little bit nervous. You’ve just got to skate hard and get off the ice, and take it one step at a time. But it’s a great feeling right now.”
Anderson, signed as a free agent over the summer, helped beat back the 5-on-3 Sharks advantage midway through third, with a highlight-reel glove save on former Av Rob Blake eliciting chants of his last name by the sold out crowd.
“It couldn’t go much better for the start for us,” Anderson said. “It was a special night, and I’m glad I was able to be a part of it.”
Adrian Dater: 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com
