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‘They were the hungrier team,’ says Avalanche’s Stastny after Game 4 loss

Colorado Avalanche v Minnesota Wild - Game Four

ST PAUL, MN - APRIL 24: Goalie Darcy Kuemper #35 of the Minnesota Wild looks on as teammate Ryan Suter #20 battles Maxime Talbot #25 of the Colorado Avalanche who brings the puck around the net during the second period in Game Four of the First Round of the 2014 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on April 24, 2014 at Xcel Energy Center in St Paul, Minnesota. The Wild defeated the Avalanche 2-1. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)

Hannah Foslien

The Colorado Avalanche had 12 shots on goal against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday. So it was hardly a surprise the Avalanche dropped Game 4, as the series will now shift back to Denver tied at two-games apiece.

But while the Avalanche, which earlier enjoyed a 2-0 series lead, were outplayed on the road, this game was close on the score board, even if the shots-on-goal statistics suggest it probably should not have been. Colorado lost this game by a final score of 2-1. The Avalanche was one shot away from tying it, potentially sending this game to overtime.

Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy pulled goalie Semyon Varlamov for the extra attacker with 2:35 remaining in the third period and had a late third-period power play and six-on-four advantage.

So, the opportunity was there. The goals weren’t. Colorado finished the third period with only five shots on goal.

“They were the hungrier team,” Avalanche forward Paul Stastny told The Denver Post. “They were the more desperate team. But we’ll be excited to go back home now, where we know our fans will be loud and we’ll regroup.”

According to Pierre LeBrun of TSN and ESPN, Avalanche forward Matt Duchene has been ruled out for Game 5.

Minnesota’s goalie Darcy Kuemper had his series shutout streak snapped at 124:35, as Ryan O’Reilly scored the lone Colorado goal, cutting the Wild’s two-goal second period lead in half. The Wild were credited with 11 blocked shots.

But Kuemper had a considerably lower work load than Varlamov at the other end of the rink.

“It was pretty easy for me. I just had to sit back and watch,” Kuemper said afterward, as per Chad Graff of the Pioneer Press.

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