Avs come back in final minutes to defeat Senators in overtime

Avs vs. Senators

The Avalanche played the Senators. I wish I had something witty, but honestly I like Karlsson (FYI he has too many s’s in his name) and I like the other “snubbed.”

Tangent 1: Guest writer tonight!!! My brother is here to help drink with me while we watch.

Drinking Update 2: We are drinking Yamazaki 12. Usually you get the 10, the 12 is evidently better. Check back in later for updates.

First Period:

Within a minute or so (shut up I hate math) Ottawa got called for a penalty. A great read by EJ kept the puck in and he got a shot off realizing he had a ton of coverage. It was an Olympic-class play, no question. Last year that probably didn’t happen. And just as I was complimenting him, EJ had a great shot and perfectly placed so that McGinn could tip it in. Amazing. Just amazing. 1-0 Avs.

Tangent 2: I can't believe O'Reilly is out of this game with a "hugging" injury. Now we have a third category to go with "upper body" and "lower body".

5 minutes into the 1^st, my brother was commenting on how good Landeskog is at reading plays. Landy read the forecheck perfectly, took the puck and found an open seam to Hejda. What does Hejda do?????? No, guess!!!!! He shot. Also he scored! Stastny was in front but only offered blockage, no tippage. 2-0 Avs.

Tangent 3: Craig Anderson has never won against the Avs. We are arguing that that is a statically relevant sample size. Go fuck yourself Chia.

15 minutes in and the game has been great for the Avs. The Avs were playing their game and maintaining possession. Ottawa had an issue getting possession through the neutral zone. The Avs’ system seemed to stop them on the forecheck and the pressure slowed them down. But, as I was watching this, the Senators stole possession off a miscue by Benoit and scored off a pass from behind the net. 2-1 Avs.

Period over. In sum, a fairly good period by the Avs. They slowed down near the end and Ottawa got a catch-up goal. I dislike that. Stop it Avs. Stop it.

Tangent 4: Jan Hejda, second most Swedish guy on the team?

Tangent 5: JULIE BROWMAN IS ON THE SCREEN AGAIN. WHO THE HELL ARE YOU SLEEPING WITH JULIE BROWMAN?

Tangent 6: BWAHAHAHA!!! cMerely6hor8 has left the building to pick up food. Did you know his apartment has no Avalanche posters, rosters, tickets, schedules, or even framed jerseys? But he does have a framed picture of Julie Browman. Weird.

2nd Period:

3 minutes (or so-ish) in, Barrie got called for a penalty. Killed! But Ottawa had some GREAT chances. That is a great powerlay. Wow.

Again Johnson is again dominating again. Two great passes created good scoring chances. Funny how the Avs' defense has such an effect on the Avs' offence. Ottawa started getting some chances about halfway through until a great turnover by the Avs led to an almost VDG goal. The next shift, MacKinnon and Duchene ran rampant on the forecheck and Duchene just missed.

10 minutes in, Sarich took a very weak penalty, in my opinion. And ugh, the Avs got called on a delay of game. 5 on 3. Not, not good for the Avs. Spezza scores on a nice play. 2-2 Senators.

A few minutes later the Senators made it 3-2 on a beautiful pass and shot from Turris. 3-2 Sens. The Avs had a great end to the period with a crossbar hit by MacKinnon and nice breakaway where MacKinnon almost had the rebound. Great defense by the Sens, annoyingly. There were a few bright spots for the good guys, but this period was dominated by the Sens.

Tangent 7: My brother figured out what’s wrong with the Coors Light commercial. Though I like them I want more or them, but he figured out that they must be so expensive to film live everytime. That makes sense finally.

3^rd Period:

This period started off fast. Chances went back and forth. About 4 minutes it Karlsson rang it off the post and the Avs had a great chance coming back, but Mitchell missed the net.

For about the middle 10 minutes of the period, Ottawa took absolute and complete control of the game with a fantastic cycle game. The Avs were completely helpless and it showed.

Tangent 8: Why the hell is Ottawa the capital? It should be Yellowknife or something cool.

The game shifted at about 8 minutes left when the Avs started to get speed and space. Highlighted by Duchene jumping 50 feet in the air to catch a puck and keep it in the zone. White men from Haliburton can jump, yo.

At about 3 minutes left the Avs decided it was time. Duchene almost scored, and then almost again. Then Mitchell walked around everyone in his Malkin impression and hit the post. Then FINALLY, Landeskog said “I can haz Malkin?” and made a great move to the net. Anderson poked checked it right to Stastny who got the rebound. 3-3. A great job by the Avs. Just great.

30 seconds into OT, Roy puts out Stastny, Landeskog, Barrie and Holden. They were pushing just like the end of the 3rd. Stastny corralled possession behind the net and found Barrie in the slot. One beautiful shot later and the Avs won it. Great shot by Barrie, but better pass by Stastny. 4-3 Avs. Game Over.

Summary: Ottawa played a great game. The Avs started fast, did great, but Ottawa slowed them down. It took the Avs and Roy about a period and a half to revert this. It was nervous at times and Ottawa definitely dominated a good 10 minutes, but credit to the Avs, they did a great job.

Three Whores:

Third Whore: Barrie, you jackass. “I had an empty net”, was his quote after the game. There was a goalie in there, you know. He was great.

Second Whore: Landeskog: Played a great game. Extremely physical and led the team to the tying goal when they needed it most.

First Whore: Stastny: Played amazingly well. Did not sparkle the way Duchene might have but he helped the Avs win in the biggest way.