Behind netminder Semyon Varlamov (35 saves) and goals from three lines and a power-play tally from the second unit, the Avalanche swept its season-opening two-game homestand with a 5-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night at the Pepsi Center. Game story is here:
Three stars:
- Erik Johnson. Defenseman had three assists and seven shots in 22:21 for Colorado.
- Semyon Varlamov. Goalie made 35 saves — a good enough performance to be considered the No. 1 star.
- Colin Wilson. Avs winger scored on each of his two shots in logging 12:36.
What you might have missed: Johnson and center Nathan MacKinnon (goal, assist) tied for a game-high seven shots.
Next up: Tuesday at Columbus
Jared Bednar postgame. beat Flyers 5-2
— Mike Chambers (@MikeChambers)
Willy factor. Colin Wilson had just six goals in 56 games season, his first with the Avalanche. He now has two goals in his first two games, and had another disallowed in Thursday’s opener against Minnesota.
Wilson, 28, is Colorado’s fourth highest-paid forward and a pending unrestricted free agent next summer.
“I just feel a little more confident with the puck, and at the same time I’m on great line right now,” said Wilson, who is the right winger with center Tyson Jost and left winger Alex Kerfoot. “I think we’re all finding each other really well. Things are just clicking.”
Winning. The Avs finished last season 18-4-1 at home and have now won 20 of their last 25 games (24-0-1) at the Pepsi Center.
“It’s fun. Winning at home is the best,” Johnson said. “You want to take care of your fans and give them something to cheer for and have that sense of pride when they watch their team play in Denver. Winning at home is awesome and we want to keep it going.”
Scoring. The Avs have nine goals in two games, tied with Chicago for second most in the NHL. Washington (13 goals) leads the league. Colorado has scored in all six periods thus far, just the second time in franchise history it has done that. The 1995-96 Stanley Cup-winning team also scored in each of its first six periods.
Special teams: The Avs are rolling in this department, now 2-for-7 on the power play (28.6 percent) and 6-of-6 on the penalty kill (100 percent). They were 1-for-4 on the PP and 3-for-3 on the PK against the Flyers.
“Itap huge. Their power play is always one of the most dangerous in the league, Philly’s,” Avs defenseman Ian Cole said. “They are a great power play. The personnel they have on it are very special hockey players.
They really put the PK into some tough situations, so great job figuring that out and that goal from our
power play was huge. It sealed the game for us, so enough can’t be said how big they stepped up at
a huge point in the game.”
Opponent quote. “(The Avs are) a fast, fast team. A lot of their plays had top speed. Itap definitely a game where you need to be ready to skate and match up (with) their speed.” — Flyer center Sean Couturier
Semyon Varlamov after 5-2 victory over Philly
— Mike Chambers (@MikeChambers)
