Avalanche Vs. Capitals Game Recap: Colorado Beats Washington 2-1

It took two goals from unlikely sources, but the Colorado Avalanche (15-17-1, 31 pts) bested the Washington Capitals (16-14-1, 33 pts) with a score of 2-1.

Out-shooting the Caps 28 shots to 26 shots, the Avalanche grabbed at 1-0 lead in the first period when Cody McLeod fired his first goal of the season just 2:49 into the first period. The goal marked McLeod's first of the season and proved key to Colorado's success when Alexander Semin midway through the second period, tying the game at 1-1.

The Avalanche regained the lead when defenseman Erik Johnson added his first goal of the season, lifting the Avalanche to their final 2-1 lead. In the third period, the Colorado defense held strong, even killing a late power play in the final 14 seconds.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere, filling in for former Caps goalie Semyon Varlamov, collected 25 saves and a .962 save percentage in the win.

For more coverage, visit our Avalanche blog Mile High Hockey and our Capitals blog Japer's Rink.

Avalanche Vs. Capitals: Colorado Leads Washington 2-1 On Erik Johnson's First 2011 Goal

The Colorado Avalanche lead the Washington Capitals entering the third period, looking for their second win in their last six games.

After taking a 1-0 lead in the first period, the Avalanche saw their tenuous grasp on the 1-0 lead slip away when Alexander Semin launched his sixth goal of the season on a 29-foot wrister past G Jean-Sebastien Giguere with just 6"51 remaining in the period. The Avalanche wasted no time in responding, however, reclaiming their lead less than a minute later.

Paul Stastny won a faceoff against Nicklas Backstrom, getting the puck to Erik Johnson for the 10-foot tip in goal for a 2-1 Avalanche lead -- Johnson's first goal of the season. A tripping penalty on T.J. Galiardi gave the Avalanche a power play, which Colorado will carry into the first 18 seconds of the third and final period.

For more coverage, visit our Avalanche blog Mile High Hockey and our Capitals blog Japer's Rink.

Avalanche Vs. Capitals Score Update: Colorado Leads Washington 1-0 After 1st Period

The Colorado Avalanche (14-17-1, 29 pts) lead the Washington Capitals (16-13-1, 33 pts) by a score of 1-0 through the first period.

Just two and a half minutes into the first period, the Avalanche got their first goal of the evening as fifth-year man out of Manitoba, LW Cody McLeod, fired a 66-foot wrister past G Michal Neuvirth for a 1-0 Colorado lead. The goal marks McLeod's first of the season and his first since he knocked one in against the Calgary Flames on March 17, 2011. Despite his goal, McLeod still has the fewest minutes on ice for either team with 1:23.

If the Avalanche hope to maintain their precarious lead, they will need continued excellence from Jean-Sebastien Giguere who has collected 11 saves through the first period. The Caps have thus far out-shot the Avalanche with Colorado collecting only nine shots of their own.

For more coverage, visit our Avalanche blog Mile High Hockey and our Capitals blog Japer's Rink.

Capitals Vs. Avalanche: Semyon Varlamov Will Not Start

Colorado Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov will need to wait until next year to face the Washington Capitals. He is out for Saturday's game against his former team with a minor back injury, according to the Avalanche's official Twitter feed. Saturday's game is the only contest between the two teams this year (and neither is in a playoff position this season, making a Stanley Cup Finals matchup a joke).

Jean-Sebastien Giguere last started for the Avalanche on Dec. 8, two days after he allowed two goals in relief of Varlamov in a 6-0 loss to the Vancouver Canucks. In that Dec. 8 start, Giguere allowed three goals in the 3-2 loss to the Calgary Flames. He is 4-4-40 with a 1.95 goals against average in his first season with the Avalanche. His last win came on Nov. 18 in a 3-0 win over the Dallas Stars.

For more coverage, visit our Avalanche blog Mile High Hockey and our Capitals blog Japer's Rink.

Avalanche Vs Capitals: Semyon Varlamov Sees Former Team

The Colorado Avalanche come home after an extremely disheartening loss against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday. After playing two of their best periods of the season, Colorado surrendered a two goal lead within a five minute span of the third period and left San Jose without a single point.

They will face a Washington Capitals team that is having an even more disappointing season. Once considered a Stanley Cup favorite this offseason, Washington has completely fallen off the map. Coach Bruce Boudreau was fired earlier this month (and promptly signed by the Anaheim Ducks less than 48 hours later), and star forward Alex Ovechkin has been very un-Ovechkin this year with 10 goals and just 22 points. Top defenseman Mike Green has missed most of the season with a severe groin injury and could be out for substantially longer. Prized goalie Tomas Vokoun has been disappointing as well, with a 2.81 GAA. Goalie Michal Neuvirth (338 GAA, .885 SV%) will start in Vokoun's place at Pepsi Center, though he has been much worse statistically this season.

For Colorado, there hasn't been an official starting goalie named, but all bets are on Semyon Varlamov. Varlamov was drafted by the Capitals, and was viewed as their best starting goalie option going forward. Unfortunately, he was never able to stay healthy consistently enough to keep the job and the Capitals traded him to Colorado this offseason for a first and second round pick in the draft. Varlamov has been inconsistent  this season as well, but has shown flashes of brilliance. 

Forward Kevin Porter returns to the lineup from his four game suspension after a hit on Vancouver Canucks forward David Booth. He will likely take the place of AHL callup Evan Brophey, who saw only four minutes on the ice against San Jose.

Puck drops at 7:00 p.m.

For more coverage, visit our Avalanche blog Mile High Hockey and our Capitals blog Japer's Rink.

Avalanche Vs. Sharks Final Score: Colorado Lets Leads Slip Away In 3rd Period, Falls To San Jose, 5-4

The Colorado Avalanche failed to sweep the home-and-home series against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday by surrendering a third-period lead, losing, 5-4, on three unanswered goals in the period. The Avalanche opened the final frame with a 4-2 lead, but Semyon Varlamov allowed four three goals in a span of four and a half minutes. Brent Burns, Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture each tallied a goal against the Russian netminder.

The Sharks had started the game with a Ryane Clowe goal at 2:30 in the first period, but Paul Stastny and Ryan O'Reilly put the Avalanche in the 2-1 lead by the end of the first period. After Michael Handzus tied the game at two at 1:12 in the second period, Stastny netted his second goal of the game less than two minutes later to regain the lead for the Avalanche. Daniel Winnik extended the lead to two goals at 18:21 in the period.

Varlamov made 29 saves on 34 shots while Antti Niemi blocked 23 shots on 27 shots. The Avalanche had declining shot totals in each period, starting at 11 and going down by two over each period.

The Avalanche (14-17-1, 29 points) host the Washington Capitals on Saturday.

For more coverage, visit our Avalanche blog Mile High Hockey and our Sharks blog Fear The Fin.

Avalanche Vs. Sharks Score: Paul Stastny, Ryan O'Reilly Put Colorado In 2-1 Lead After 1st Period

The Colorado Avalanche enter the second period with a 2-1 lead over the San Jose Sharks on the road. With 11 second left in the first period, rookie Gabriel Landeskog set up the screen in front of Antti Niemi, allowing Ryan O'Reilly to score the team's second power play goal of the game. Paul Stastny scored his ninth goal of the season on the power play around six minutes into the period. The Avalanche already have doubled the number of power plays they had in the previous game against the Sharks.

Erik Johnson picked up the assist on Stastny's goal while rookie defenseman Stefan Elliott and forward Milan Hejduk helped O'Reilly get the goal on Ladeskog's screen.

Ryane Clowe scored at 2:30 in the period for the Sharks to take the early 1-0 lead. The shots are tied up at 11 after the first period.

For more coverage, visit our Avalanche blog Mile High Hockey and our Sharks blog Fear The Fin.

Avalanche Vs. Sharks: Colorado Looks To Sweep Home-And-Home Series

The Colorado Avalanche face the San Jose Sharks for the second straight contest, though this time the setting moves to California.

Colorado took care of business against the slumping Sharks at Pepsi Center on Tuesday evening, winning 4-3 in the shootout on Gabriel Landeskog's first ever career shootout attempt. With the victory, the Avalanche remain in last place in the Northwest Division, but only two points out of a tie for third place. They can accomplish that goal with another victory against San Jose.

The Sharks' offense continues to be very top heavy, as Logan Couture and Jamie McGinn have completely carried the team in December. Couture and McGinn have nine total goals in the past 10 games; the remainder of the roster has a total of 11. Colorado must focus their defensive energies on stopping those two players, while keeping dangerouss players like Patrick Marleau in check.

For the Avalanche, Paul Stastny is likely to play for the second straight game. AHL callups Evan Brophey and David Van Der Gulik may see some time on the ice as well due to injuries to Chuck Kobasew and Brandon Yip.

Puck drops at 8:30 p.m. MDT.

For more coverage, visit our Avalanche blog Mile High Hockey and our Sharks blog Fear The Fin.

Avalanche Roster Moves: Chuck Kobasew Placed On IR, Van Der Gulik Recalled From AHL

The Colorado Avalanche made a minor roster move, placing forward Chuck Kobasew on the Injured Reserve list and have recalled winger David Van Der Gulik from the AHL Lake Erie Monsters.

Kobasew has missed the last week with a leg injury and will be eligible to play again on December 16, if healthy. The forward has been an effective third line winger and forecheck specialist for the Avalanche this season.

Van Der Gulik, 28, has been one of the better offensive threats for Lake Erie this season, scoring 19 points (6G, 13 A) in 21 games this season for the Monsters. The winger saw some time with Colorado last fall due to injury and was effective, scoring three points in the six games he played.

Kobasew's injury has tested Colorado's forward depth, as Peter Mueller has only played three games this season due to undisclosed injuries that may still relate to the concussion that forced him to miss the entire 2010-2011 season. Paul Stastny just returned from a torso injury that knocked him out for the Avalanche's three game road trip last week.

Van Der Gulik will likely see limited minutes against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday.

Sharks Vs. Avalanche Final Score: Colorado Pulls Out 4-3 Shootout Victory

After seeing victory snatched from their hands with just 22 seconds left in regulation and then a scoreless overtime period, the Colorado Avalanche defeated the San Jose Sharks in the shootout to pick up the 4-3 victory. Gabriel Landeskog scored the game-winner once the Sharks failed on its last attempt. Milan Hejduk started the scoring in the shootout while it took the Sharks three guys to score, Joe Pavelski keeping San Jose's hopes alive. But those were the only goals before Landeskog netted his point.

The Avalanche had held a 1-0 lead after Stefan Elliott went end to end to score his third goal of the season, but the Sharks scored two goals in the second to take the lead. Daniel Winnik and Matt Duchene each put one past Antti Niemi to take the lead in the third period. However, Patrick Marleau was able to edge one into Colorado's net to tie the game at three with just 22 seconds left on the clock.

The Avalanche (14-16-1, 29 points) travel to San Jose for a Thursday contest with the Sharks.

For more coverage, visit our Avalanche blog Mile High Hockey and our Sharks blog Fear The Fin.

Sharks Vs. Avalanche Score: Colorado Rallies In 3rd Period But Winds Up In Overtime

The Colorado Avalanche rallied in the third period to take a 3-2 lead in the game, but with just 22 seconds left in the final frame the San Jose Sharks' Patrick Marleau was able to sneak a puck into the corner of the net and past Semyon Varlamov.. Regulation ended in a 3-3 tie with overtime coming.

Daniel Winnik tied the game roughly seven minutes into the game while Matt Duchene had the potential game-winner when he scored his team-leading 11th goal of the season at 11:51. Duchene scored that goal on the power play, the only one the Avalanche had in regulation.

The Avalanche and the Sharks each had nine shots on the net, though Colorado held a four-shot advantage over San Jose after three periods of play.

Do the Avalanche have an overtime hero ready to show up?

For more coverage, visit our Avalanche blog Mile High Hockey and our Sharks blog Fear The Fin.

Sharks Vs. Avalanche Score: San Jose Takes 2-1 Lead In 2nd Period

The Colorado Avalanche's 1-0 lead from the first period didn't last long into the second period, as the Sharks hold a 2-1 lead heading into the final period. The Sharks struck early into the period with just 3:16 off the clock. T.J. Galiardi was sent to the penalty box for high-sticking at 1:25 in the period, giving the Sharks an early power play opportunity. Unlike in the first period, the Sharks converted it when Jamie McGinn slipped it past Semyon Varlamov.

Dan Boyle, who assisted on the first goal, scored the go-ahead goal for the Sharks at 13:39 in the period. Joe Pavelski and Torrey Mitchell assisted on the play. The Sharks managed just seven shots on net in the period, but they made the most of them. The Avalanche had 11 more shots but couldn't get anything past Antti Niemi.

For more coverage, visit our Avalanche blog Mile High Hockey and our Sharks blog Fear The Fin.

Sharks Vs. Avalanche Score: Stefan Elliott Scores Late For Colorado's 1-0 Lead

The Colorado Avalanche had to wait for nearly the entire period to score, but they enter the first intermission with a 1-0 lead after Stefan Elliott's goal came with just 17 seconds left in the period. Elliott picked the puck up from his own end zone, skated through traffic and then snapped off a wristshot for his third goal of the season and the Avalanche lead. The 20-year-old rookie defenseman had not scored a goal or tallied a point since Nov. 30.

The Sharks continued to struggle offensively, never quite taking advantage of Colorado's turnovers. All 11 shots they put on net were blocked by Semyon Varlamov. The team, subsequently, was unable to convert on the only power play opportunity of the period, Cody McLeood's two-minute charging penalty.

That one goal really could the only point needed to win the game.

For more coverage, visit our Avalanche blog Mile High Hockey and our Sharks blog Fear The Fin.

Avalanche Vs. Sharks: Struggling Teams Collide At Pepsi Center

Colorado returns home after a dreadful road trip.