Ten seconds in, it seemed like Friday might be another miserable night for the Colorado Avalanche, as Henrik Sedin gave the Vancouver Canucks a 1-0 lead. The Avs responded in a big way with a total effort, eventually throttling the Canucks by a score of 7-3.
Vancouver managed to carry a 2-1 lead into the second period, but Colorado carried the play and eventually overwhelmed Eddie Lack & Co.
Colorado won the shot advantage in every period, finishing with 48 versus Vancouver’s 29 shots on goal:
First: 15-8
Second: 16-9
Third: 17-12
Naysayers might point out that the Canucks were on the end of a back-to-back stretch, but it’s unlikely that Colorado will be bothered by such talk.
The Avalanche won their first game at home. This also represents Semyon Varlamov’s first win of the 2014-15 season.
If all of those factoids don’t do it for you, chew on this: the Avalanche dominated possession.
/Throws confetti.
/Throws more confetti.
/Runs out of confetti.
Anyway, with a 2-4-2 record, the Avalanche obviously aren’t out of the woods yet. Still, as much as Patrick Roy insists that he’s confident with his system, things were getting awkward for a moment there.
Tonight was a true celebration for Colorado. Not only did Matt Duchene score a beauty, but Jarome Iginla found the net twice. Even polarizing pickup Daniel Briere collected a tally.
Iginla made some history with his second goal:
With 2 goals in #VANvsCOL, @Avalanche Jarome Iginla (562) passed Lafleur & Modano for 23rd on NHL's all-time list. pic.twitter.com/heDWMNTJ1i
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) October 25, 2014
... Which was quite nifty, by the way:
The upcoming schedule is pretty interesting for the Avs.
Sunday: at Winnipeg
Tuesday: vs. San Jose
Thursday: vs. the Islanders
Nov. 1: at St. Louis
Nov. 2: vs. Anaheim
Such a slate seems far more up-for-grabs after a night like this, eh?