Whoa. Avalanche forward John Mitchell made a whirling move Saturday night and then beat Calgary goalie Karri Ramo with a shot from the circle. Yes, John Mitchell, more known for the steadiness in his game than for flashiness.
Mitchell later noted that he was working against Calgary center Lance Bouma.
“I kind of turned like I was just going to wrist it at the net,” Mitchell said. “I just kind of froze him, so he tried to block it. I just kind of thought, ‘I’m going to try something here and pull it on the inside.’ Thank God it worked out, because we could be in trouble there.
“(Matt Duchene) was standing in front of the net with a little bit of screen, so I had time to walk in and get a good wrister off.”
Since being moved up in the second period against New Jersey Thursday to play wing on the Duchene-centered line with Jarome Iginla on the other side, Mitchell has contributed a goal and a hard-work assist.
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That followed a brief demotion to the fourth line — a demotion he candidly acknowledged was reflective of his play of late. But Avalanche coach Patrick Roy took the recently acquired Jordan Caron off the Duchene line after the first period against the Devils and plugged in Mitchell.
For the season, Mitchell has eight goals and 13 assists in 55 games. He missed the first four games of the year while battling migraine headaches and then 10 games in late November and early December with a leg injury.
“I think I’ve played well the past two games,” Mitchell said. “There are still little things I’d like to clean up and get better at. I’m not going to be perfect every night, but you want to be as close as you can to perfect. … I just have to keep moving my feet and get in on the forecheck and on the backcheck and do all those little things.”
Said Roy: “It seems like since we put him on the wing, he’s been doing really well. He scored an important goal and it was a nice shot and it was a great play by him. But with Dutchy and Iggy, I think they mix well.”
Playing wing instead of center, Mitchell said, doesn’t significantly change his game.
“I’ve played all three forward positions before,” he said. “I still have to go do the same things out there. Being a winger instead of a center man is a little bit different, when you’re down low more and helping out the ‘D.’ Being a winger you’re usually first on the forecheck and you have to battle pucks out on the boards. It’s small little things, but I feel confident and comfortable in those positions.”
After Sunday’s games, the Avalanche still was five points out of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference, for the moment held down by the Winnipeg Jets. Colorado has the next five on the road, beginning with games Thursday at Arizona and Friday at Anaheim.
Roy gave his players Sunday off. They will practice Monday.
