Derick Brassard, acquired from the Florida Panthers before Monday’s 1 p.m. trade deadline, helped the Avalanche earn a point against the Panthers on Monday night in a strange 12 hours for the veteran forward.
Brassard, 31, awoke at his Denver resort for a member of the Panthers. But he had been pulled off the ice shortly into Florida’s skate in the Pepsi Center and was advised to switch locker rooms. He would play his first game in an Avs sweater against the Panthers, scoring early in the third period to give Colorado a 3-2 lead.
The Avs went on to lose to Florida 4-3 in overtime, falling to a when games go beyond regulation. Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad beat at goalie Semyon Varlamov with a 26 seconds into OT.
“In the first period, it took me a few shifts to get used to it and be comfortable out there,” Brassard said. “As far as the goal there, it was a great play by Graveys (defenseman Ryan Graves). ”
He added: “It was a fun night. Always a fantastic atmosphere. Coming for a team it’s a location that is special. I m going to attempt and play well for the team, for the fans. ”
Brassard is a pending unrestricted free agent who had been expecting a trade. He served as a healthy scratch in Florida’s game Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings, but he didn’t figure his day would unfold as it did.
The Avs dominated early, carrying a lead in the period’s last two minutes before everything changed. The Panthers scored twice in 1:09, starting with Troy Brouwer’s goal in 18:26. On the ensuing faceoff, Colorado defenseman Nikita Zadorov was whistled for interference, and Evgeni Dadonov scored 1:02 into the penalty, at 19:35.
“Breakdown in D-zone coverage. No conversation there s a duplication. They find a guy open. He scores,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said of Brouwer’s aim. “And then away we take a discount off the faceoff. They’ve a power play that is lethal. We knew that coming in. But even after that we had another lead with about eight minutes. ”
Florida tied it 3-3 with Mike Hoffman’s aim of the period. Each team had one shot in OT.
“Kind of a game, but we have to discover a way to get two points,” Avs forward Matt Calvert said. “Every point is going to matter down the stretch here.
Tyson Jost and Mikko Rantanen scored at 2:12 and 14:31 of the second period to give the Avalanche what seemed like a comfortable lead.
Brassard played left wing on Colorado’s line against his former team. After the transaction, the Avs learned left winger Matt Nieto will miss 6 to 8 weeks with a leg injury. Nieto was previously labeled to week. ” Nieto blocked a shot Friday in Chicago and missed Saturday’s game at Nashville. The Avs had Sunday off and didn’t learn the entire extent of Nieto’s injury until Monday afternoon, general manager Joe Sakic said.
Sakic said he didn’t make more moves before Monday’s deadline because he believes in his team that had won its previous four matches in style that was dominant.
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Footnotes. After Monday’s morning skate, the Avalanche reassigned forwards A.J. Greer and Andrew Agozzino to the Colorado Eagles of the American Hockey League. Those moves led to Gabriel Bourque returning to the lineup after being a healthy scratch the previous 10 games. Colorado’s just healthy scratch was defenseman Mark Barberio. Along with Nieto, forward Colin Wilson (upper-body) is on the injured list with defensemen Ian Cole (orbital bone) and Conor Timmins (mind ).
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