Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie had an extraordinary game Friday. There’s probably no name for it — like a Gordie Howe hat trick (goal, assist, fight) — but Barrie’s goal, two assists and goal-preventing save spearheaded Colorado in a must-win situation at the Pepsi Center.
The Avs, who hadn’t scored more than one goal in their last four games, blew open a close game with three third-period goals to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-0 and temporarily climb back into playoff position. Colorado secured the first of two Western Conference wild-card spots before the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 in overtime and the St. Louis Blues played into OT before losing 4-3 at the Vegas Golden Knights.
“We were aware that we had just scored four goals in our last four games, so we knew it was a big game for us to step up and give our goalies some support,” Barrie said.
Colorado, which was 3-for-3 on the power play, entered the game a point behind Anaheim and St. Louis, and three points behind L.A. After the late games, the Avs are again on the outside looking in — tied with the Blues for the eighth and final spot but St. Louis has a game in hand. They trail L.A. by two points and Anaheim by one.
One of those four teams won get in. But the Avs have head-to-head opportunities coming into the the last week of the regular season. They have four remaining games, including at the Ducks and Kings on Sunday and Monday, respectively, and against the Blues in the April 7 regular-season finale in Denver. They also play at San Jose on Thursday.
“(Five goals) for us and zero goals-against — that’s a good result for us before the road trip,” said right winger Mikko Rantanen, who had a goal and an assist to snap a three-game points drought. “We know it’s going to be a huge three games on the road, and the last one, obviously. It’s good to get some confidence offensively.”
Forward Sven Andrighetto scored Colorado’s first and fifth goals. Barrie produced the second one on a 4-on-3 power play and assisted on Rantanen’s man-advantage goal 6:25 into the third period to give the Avs a 3-0 lead. They were leading 2-0 when Barrie dug the puck off Colorado’s goal line in the second period to prevent a goal.
“Just kind of a reactionary thing. You see the puck heading over and you just want to try to get a stick on it,” Barrie said. “It was probably my fault the puck was even that close to the goal line. But I was fortunate I could get a stick on it.”
Leading scorer Nathan MacKinnon, who snapped a three-game streak without a point with an assist on Rantanen’s goal, made a similar goal-saving play in the first period to aid goalie Semyon Varlamov, who left late in the third period with an injury.
Varlamov and company upended Chicago’s fifth-string goalie Collin Delia, who made his NHL debut in Thursday’s 6-2 win over the visiting Winnipeg Jets. Delia left that game with cramps, but got the win.
Andrighetto, who had missed the last three games with a leg injury, gave the Avs a 1-0 lead on a terrific individual play. He accepted a pass from defenseman Sam Girard on Colorado’s blue line, drove through the neutral zone and split two Chicago defensemen to get to the top of the crease — with another defender nearby. Andrighetto created a 1-on-1 situation with Delia and wristed the puck past the goalie inside the near post.
Barrie doubled the lead at 8:14 of the second period, scoring on a one-time blast from Rantanen at 8:14.
“The power play goes 3-for-3. It’s been a sore spot the last couple games. They step up and elevate their game to get the job done,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “We moved the puck. We didn’t stand around with the puck. We had shot mentality, going to the net. It was just more hungry and moving the puck crisp.”
