Minnesota Wild left wing Matt Cooke, left and Colorado Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie tangle up on the far boards in the first period of the Wild’s opener at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul on Thursday, October 9, 2014. (John Autey, Pioneer Press)
Avalanche coach Patrick Roy: “We were hiding behind it in the preseason. Now we can’t hide it anymore. We’re going to have to compete”
ST. PAUL, MINN. — Remember opening night a year ago? The Avalanche demolished Anaheim 6-1 at the Pepsi Center.
The Ducks were a pretty good team, finishing first in the Western Conference and advancing to the semifinals of the conference playoffs.
I remember thinking about the 2013-14 opener in the third period Thursday in , and Avs defenseman Nate Guenin brought it up in a postgame interview.
Minnesota has defeated Colorado in five of the last six games, after the Avs went 4-0-1 against the Wild in the 2013-14 regular season and won the first two games of the playoffs series. The tide has undoubtedly turned.
Avs captain Gabe Landeksog did not like the term “struggle” when I asked if losing five of the last six to Minnesota is especially dissappointing:
“It was a seven-game series that we lost last time, so I don’t know it was a struggle,” Landy said. “It was one goal away in overtime (in Game 7), but certainly they played well tonight and deserve to win this. We have one more to go (Saturday) so we’re not going to hang our heads or feel sorry for ourselves. We’re going to move on and get ready for Saturday.”
Look for a Mark Kiszla column posting soon, and an enhanced game story from the link above. Heading home. Follow Nick Groke (@NickGroke) for Friday practice updates. Saturday’s rematch against the Wild at the Pepsi Center, 7 p.m.
