Early in the second period Tuesday night, Avalanche forward J.T. Compher has been evaluated a double-minor penalty for cross checking stiff in the offensive zone. Compher was ready to devote the whole four minutes from the sin bin as his teammates killed off the drawback. Rather, he had been discharged after just 49 seconds.
That’s how fast the Toronto Maple Leafs scored two power-play goals to break open what had been a tight match in the Pepsi Center. The visitors, who scored three power-play targets within 1:49 entirely, broke a 1-1 tie and coasted to extend the Avs’ losing streak to eight games.
“We take a double-minor. That’s foolish,”
Avs coach Jared Bednar stated. “You can’t do that, especially not from a group which has among the most dangerous energy plays in the group. ”
Toronto had been 3-of-5 on the power play and had committed just 1 penalty through two phases, as it led 4-1 despite being outshot 24-12 at additional strength. Colorado goalie Semyon Varlamov has been substituted by Philipp Grubauer after allowing four goals on 17 shots.
“We gave up three power-play goals. That’s the reason we lost. The point is,” Avs defenseman Erik Johnson stated. “Take a double-minor and provide three up like that, it s going to be challenging to win. ”
He added: “We were having a match that was good, 5-on-5. And then bang, bang, bang. ”
The turnover-prone Avalanche, which had lost its past three games in overtime, dropped to 10-11-5 at home, in which it tied a franchise record with 28 victories last year. The Avs failed to include Toronto forward Nazem Kadri and Kasper Kapanen, that had two goals, Auston Matthews (goal, two assists) along with John Tavares (two assists).
The Leafs completed 3-for-3 3-of-6 on the power play in penalty killing.
“Their power play has been better compared to our PK, along with their PK was better compared to our power play,” Avs captain Gabe Landeskog said. “That’therefore the bottom line, the match on the market. ”
The Avs got their goals by defenseman Ryan Graves and forwards Alex Kerfoot. Graves tied it 1-1 late in the first period, also Kerfoot created it 5-2 midway through the thirdparty.
Colorado didn’t receive a point out of its top line of center Nathan MacKinnon, Landeskog along with Mikko Rantanen, along with the latter two didn’t make a shot while MacKinnon had just two.
RELATED: When Avalanche games go into overtime, losing is almost a certainty
Footnotes. Avs forward Tyson Jost returned to the lineup after operating an eight-game growth stint with the Colorado Eagles of the American Hockey League. Jost, 20, centered Colorado’s second lineup with fellow second-year forward J.T. Compher and Kerfoot. … Defenseman Ian Cole missed his third consecutive game. Cole suffered the injury in a fight with Washington forward Tom Wilson last week. Forward Colin Wilson was scraped Tuesday with an undisclosed injury, along with the Avs’ other scratches were forward Gabriel Bourque along with defenseman Mark Barberio. … The Avs will practice Wednesday before leaving Winnipeg, in which they play the Jets on Thursday night. Colorado returns home to face the St. Louis Blues on Saturday afternoon in the Pepsi Center.
Buy Tickets for every event – Sports, Concerts, Festivals and more buytickets.com