DENVER (AP) This illustrates just how well things have been going for Nathan MacKinnon: He fanned on a shot
www.officiallightningprostore.com , got it back, skated to the other side, launched the puck toward the net, hit a
defender and in it goes.”Lucky,” he said.They all count the same.MacKinnon kept
up his torrid scoring with two goals and an assist, Semyon Varlamov was sharp in
making 37 saves and the Colorado Avalanche extended Detroit’s skid to 10
straight games by beating the Red Wings 5-1 on Sunday.Gabriel
Landeskog
Tampa Bay Lightning T-Shirts Authentic , Blake Comeau and Tyson Barrie also scored to help the Avalanche remain in playoff position with 10 games
remaining. The Avs have 86 points after finishing with a league-low 48 last
season.”I like the way we’re playing. A lot of good. There’s a lot of good,”
Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. ”We’re competing harder than we’ve competed
all year I feel like during this stretch. There’s a sense of urgency to our
game.”MacKinnon remains among the league’s top scoring leaders with 89 points.
His goal in the second period gave Colorado a 3-0 lead and came on a backhand
with Niklas Kronwall trying to cover him.The defenseman couldn’t.The 22-year-old
MacKinnon sealed the win with his 38th of the season in the third period – on a
wraparound that hit off a Detroit defenseman and deflected in.It’s just the way
things have been going for him.Soon after, he was serenaded with ”MVP” chants.
His coach doesn’t disagree after MacKinnon became the first Colorado player to
score more than 36 goals in a season since 2002-03, when Milan Hejduk had 50.”I
can’t imagine there’s another player that means more to their team and doing
more for their team than what Nate’s doing for us,” Bednar said. ”That’s just
the way I see it. He is the driving force to our offense and it’s
consistent.”Justin Abdelkader had a goal for the Red Wings, who fell to 0-9-1
during a winless streak in which they’ve been outscored by a 41-19 margin. It’s
the team’s longest winless streak since a 12-game run in 1989.”We’re so far
back
Tampa Bay Lightning Hoodies Authentic , but every time we put on the Red Wings logo, you go out and play the hardest you can,” captain Henrik Zetterberg
said.Varlamov showed no signs of fatigue despite playing in his 17th straight
game (15 starts). He’s been pressed into more duty of late with backup Jonathan
Bernier sidelined by a concussion.Barrie’s goal late in the third came with a
two-man advantage and extended his points streak to 10 straight games.
Abdelkader, who was in the penalty box, was given a misconduct after the goal
and sent to the locker room. He slammed his stick on the way out.”It’s
frustration. It’s not fun,” Abdelkader said. ”We’ve just got to continue to
stick together here. It’s not one guy
Tampa Bay Lightning Hats Authentic , it’s not two guys, it’s not three guys that are going to do it. It’s a team of 20.”Colorado remains tough at home,
improving to 15-2-1 over its last 18 games at the Pepsi Center.The Avs scored on
a pair of tip-ins during a dominant first period – one by Landeskog and another
by Comeau.An injury-riddled Colorado team received a big boost with defenseman
Erik Johnson and forward Vladislav Kamenev returning to the ice Sunday. It
didn’t take Johnson long to make his presence felt, dishing out a big hit in the
opening seconds. He’s been sidelined by an upper-body injury since he was hurt
against Edmonton on Feb. 18.Kamenev has been out since November with a broken
arm. He was acquired as part of the three-team trade that sent Matt Duchene to
Ottawa.”Right now we are feeling very confident,” Barrie said.NOTES: Detroit D
Jonathan Ericsson played in his 600th career NHL game. … Red Wings goaltender
Jared Coreau made 26 stops. … Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen each had two assists.
… D Patrik Nemeth took a high-stick to the face in the third period and appeared
to lose a tooth.UP NEXTRed Wings: Host Philadelphia on Tuesday night after
concluding a five-game trip.Avalanche: At Chicago on Tuesday night before
returning home for two games.— PHILADELPHIA (AP) Petr Mrazek is going from being
a backup goaltender on a losing team to a starting job for a playoff
contender.The Philadelphia Flyers acquired Mrazek from the Detroit Red Wings for
two conditional draft picks on Monday night, a day after losing their second
goalie to injury in less than 10 days.Flyers general manager Ron Hextall made
the move after backup Michal Neuvirth was injured in Sunday’s win at the New
York Rangers. Hextall said late Monday night that Neuvirth will miss several
weeks. Starter Brian Elliott had core muscle surgery last Tuesday and is
expected to miss up to 6 weeks.Article continues below ...”We’re excited to have
obtained Petr Mrazek
Custom Tampa Bay Lightning Jerseys ,” Hextall said. ”Petr is a proven NHL goaltender, and given the situation we’re in, we needed a proven goaltender and
we got one.”The surprising Flyers are tied for third place in the Metropolitan
Division and sixth in the Eastern Conference. The Red Wings have the
fourth-fewest point total in the East and are looking to move more players
before next week’s trade deadline.Mrazek was 8-7-3 with a 2.89 goals-against
average and a .910 save percentage this season for Detroit while playing behind
Jimmy Howard. He’s 72-58-20 with a 2.60 GAA and a .912 save percentage in 166
appearances in six seasons for the Red Wings.Mrazek had his best season two
years ago, going 27-16-6 with a 2.33 GAA and a .921 save percentage. He’s 4-6 in
10 career playoff starts with a 1.88 GAA and a .931 save percentage.”We know how
capable he is, and his experience in the NHL, playing in a high-pressure market
in Detroit
www.officialmapleleafsproshop.com , went into our decision,” Hextall said. ”We felt like we had to get a guy that
has a proven track record.”The Flyers sent a conditional fourth-round draft pick
in 2018 and a conditional third-round draft pick in 2019 to Detroit.The first
pick becomes a third if the Flyers make the playoffs and Mrazek wins five games
in the regular season. That same pick can move to a second if Philadelphia wins
two rounds of the playoffs and Mrazek wins six games. The additional
third-rounder goes to Detroit in 2019 if Flyers re-sign him. Mrazek is set to
become a restricted free agent after this season.Alex Lyon made 25 saves in
relief to earn his first career win after replacing Neuvirth against the
Rangers. Lyon passed up his senior season at Yale to sign with the Flyers in
April 2016. He played in 47 games for the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms last
season and 26 more this season. He’s 1-1 in four appearances for
Philadelphia.The Flyers also activated goaltender Anthony Stolarz and sent him
to the minors before making the move. Stolarz hasn’t played this season
following surgery to repair the meniscus in his left knee in September.”We’re in
a tough situation – you lose your top two goalies when you’re fighting for a
playoff spot, and our players have worked hard for a long time now, and I didn’t
feel like it was fair to not have a proven NHL goaltender for this team,”
Hextall said.—
