ST. PAUL, Minn. — It is becoming a misnomer again to call it the “Avalanche penalty-killing unit.”
Oxymoronic play with a man down was a major reason the Avs lost 5-3 to the Minnesota Wild on Friday afternoon at the Xcel Energy Center.
One of the team’s major problems the last few seasons appeared to be on the mend in the early part of this season, but Colorado has been terrible on the PK of late, Friday most especially.
For the fourth straight game and ninth in the last 11, the Avs allowed at least one power-play goal and have sunk to the bottom half of the league in that important department.
“Sometimes, we get caught running around out of position,” said Avs center Paul Stastny, who scored his first road goal of the season. “Different guys are trying to read each other’s plays, and sometimes you get too technical instead of just coming back to the middle and figuring it out from there.”
To top off the frustrating day for Colorado, star right wing Milan Hejduk was lost to a right knee injury. The Avs didn’t know how serious the injury was immediately after the game, but it is his surgically repaired knee.
The game-winning goal was scored on the power play by former Av Andrew Brunette, at 11:02 of the third period to break a 3-3 tie. It came nearly a minute after Darcy Tucker took a slashing minor, and the Avs couldn’t get anything past Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom thereafter.
“You get caught chasing with a couple guys, and it leaves an open guy and they’re going to put it in,” Stastny said.
The Avs ran into some rotten luck in the first two periods. Matt Duchene and Stastny hit goalposts, and what looked like a sure goal — a puck rolling into the net with Backstrom unaware — was inadvertently knocked back into play by Avs rookie T.J. Galiardi.
“I thought it went in and then I went to poke at it, and just as I was about to put it in, I got my arm hit, so it reversed and went the wrong way,” Galiardi said.
Avs coach Joe Sacco seemed more critical of the Galiardi near-goal sequence, saying: “We had a chance along the goal line, we don’t bear down enough on the puck. You’ve got to really want to put that puck in there. We didn’t.”
Avs goalie Craig Anderson allowed four or more goals for the fifth time in his last six outings, but Sacco wouldn’t say whether Peter Budaj would get the start in tonight’s rematch with the Wild at the Pepsi Center. Anderson allowed a couple of big rebounds, including one that led to Minnesota’s only goal of the first period, by Owen Nolan.
“Sometimes it’s an offensive battle, and sometimes it’s a defensive battle,” Anderson said. “We were right there the whole time, and I think we played a really solid game for the most part. It was just one of those nights when they got one more than I did.”
Wild forward Chuck Kobasew got a hat trick, finishing off the game with an empty-netter.
“Special teams brought a one-goal difference in the game. We’ve got to find a way to be better in both areas,” Sacco said.
Adrian Dater: 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com
Avs Recap
The Post’s three stars
1. Chuck Kobasew.
Had a hat trick for Minnesota.
2. Andrew Brunette.
Scored the game-winner for the Wild and added an assist.
3. Chris Stewart.
Had a goal and an assist for the Avs.
What you might have missed
The Wild was credited with 30 hits compared with Colorado’s 20.
Up next
Minnesota, tonight at 7 p.m. at the Pepsi Center.
Adrian Dater, The Denver Post
Minnesota at Colorado
7 p.m. tonight, ALT, KCKK 1510 AM
Spotlight on Mikko Koivu: A whirling, twirling centerman with a strong defensive game, Koivu has established himself as a strong player and captain of the Wild. He was a nightmare for the Avs to deal with in the 2008 playoffs, and he’s starting to play well again after a slow start.
Adrian Dater, The Denver Post
