No matter who is in net for the Minnesota Wild, the Avalanche just can’t put a puck by him at the Pepsi Center, or so it always seems.
On a night when Wild No. 1 goalie and Avs killer Niklas Backstrom was out with a bad back, backup Josh Harding stepped in and blanked Colorado 1-0 Thursday night.
A scoreless game was changed when Minnesota’s Martin Havlat scored with less than five minutes left in the third period to stop Colorado’s win streak at six.
The Avs lost five of six games to the Wild this season, including all three at home.
Havlat scored after a couple of fortunate bounces for the Wild, on the Avalanche’s third line. It prevented goalie Craig Anderson from getting a third shutout on the five-game homestand.
The Avalanche had to kill five Minnesota power plays before it got its first of the game, early in the third period.
That was the reason it remained a scoreless affair entering the final 20 minutes, and what made the penalty kills even more impressive was the fact two of the five were with top PK forward T.J. Galiardi in the box.
Colorado did an exceptional job of clearing the puck, with Minnesota rarely getting set up.
The Avs might have had the game’s best scoring chances, with Brandon Yip and Chris Stewart having prime opportunities. Harding came up with the saves, however.
Avs rookie Matt Duchene almost got his team on the board midway through the third with a steal and walk-in bid, but had the puck slip off his stick.
