SAN JOSE, CALIF. — Rob Blake scored another big goal for the Avalanche Wednesday night. Much to the chagrin of his San Jose Sharks fans and teammates.
Blake’s inadvertent deflection of Chris Stewart’s centering pass from the corner went in the net with 50 seconds left in regulation Wednesday night, giving the Avalanche an upset 2-1 victory over San Jose at sold out HP Pavilion.
The Avs take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series, with Game 2 set for Friday night.
Stewart was credited with the goal when he simply threw a puck on net after his line kept it deep in the Sharks’ zone, and it ricocheted in off Blake’s left skate.
The Avs were put on their heels almost immediately in the game, when Chris Stewart was sent to the penalty box 28 seconds in with a hooking penalty.
The Sharks put six quick shots on Anderson, every one of them dangerous. But Anderson beat them back, and the Avs hung on the rest of the period to get into the dressing room in a scoreless tie.
That obviously did Colorado some good, because the Avs played one of their best periods in a long time in the second. They outshot the Sharks 12-3 and got the only goal, a power-play score by John-Michael Liles at 12:38. Liles blasted a slap shot past a screened Evgeni Nabokov, after taking a pass from Matt Duchene. Chris Stewart set the screen on Nabokov.
The Avs” problem, though, was that they didn’t get a second goal when they had some good chances to do it. They went back on the power play with 2:53 left in the period, and had some glorious looks at the net – but that’s what the Avs did too much of: looking. Instead of firing the puck on net, they held it a little too long, looking for a better opportunity.
Nervous Sharks fans unleashed plenty of boos after the period, but a one-goal game made it hardly time to panic. Another failed Sharks power play early in the third made the faithful even more antsy, as the clocked started to near the midway point.
But that’s when San Jose’s Ryane Clowe tied it up and made everybody happy again, beating Anderson with a blind, turnaround wrist shot from the right boards. Clowe beat Liles out of the corner with the puck and just turned and fired, with teammate Joe Pavelski tied up with Ryan Wilson in front of the net. The puck slipped in to the near post at 7:59.
Live updates
The barbs were flying, but skates finally hit the ice tonight in Game 1 of the Avs first-round Western Conference playoff series against the Sharks. The Denver Post had live updates from the game throughout the night:
Late goal
Chris Stewart’s goal with 49.3 seconds remaining gave the Avs a 2-1 lead. His pass from the corner bounced off Rob Blake’s skate and past Evgeni Nabokov.
Sharks get even
San Jose’s Ryan Clowe scored an even-handed goal at 7:59 of the third period to tie the game at 1-1. Assists went to Devin Setoguchi, whose shot in the first period bounced off the post, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.
Second period good for Avs
Three power-play opportunities for Colorado in the second period finally got them a goal, care of John-Michael Liles. And the Avs have a 1-0 lead after two periods.
Despite a quiet period, the Avs are dominating on offense. They have 23 shots on goal through two frames with 12 in the second. San Jose has 15 total. But Colorado goalie Craig Anderson was tested with just three shots in the second.
Avs on board first
John-Michael Liles’ shot from the point at 12:38 of the second period gave the Avs a 1-0 lead.
With Colorado on a power-play, after Rob Blake’s hooking penalty put San Jose a man-down, Liles sent a slap shot past a crowd in front of Evgeni Nabokov in the Sharks’ net, into the top right corner. Matt Duchene and Paul Stastny got assists.
First period done
Good news for the upstart Avs after 20 minutes. Game is scoreless, but the Avs had chances. And they turned away the Sharks’ power-play. San Jose, though, did well playing with discipline — no Sharks penalties yet. Shots on goal: San Jose 12, Colorado 11.
Ping
Both teams have had shots hit a goal post. The Sharks’ best try came when Dany Heatley hit the post midway through the first period. The Avs had a great chance with a scrum in front of the net with less than three minutes remaining in the period. But Paul Stastny’s rebound shot hit the crossbar.
Good chance
Paul Stastny and Darcy Tucker streaked down for a 2-on-1 chance in the second half of the first period. But Stastny’s dish went past Tucker into the corner. No shot.
Quick trouble
Didn’t take long for San Jose’s vaunted power-play unit to get its first chance. The Avs were penalized just :28 seconds in. But the Avs defense turned the Sharks away.
Injury and lineup updates
Milan Hejduk did not take part in this morning’s practice skate, but no cause for alarm. He frequently skips the morning skate, especially when he skates at practice the day before. So, he will be in his usual spot on the Avs’ second line tonight.
The third line during the morning skate was McLeod-O’Reilly-Porter, and the fourth was Tucker-Yelle-Hendricks.
Matt Duchene is a go. No further update on Peter Mueller. Avs wouldn’t say much about what he’s doing back in Denver, other than taking it day by day.
