The Colorado Avalanche continued their recent struggles on Thursday night in a 2-0 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes. Taylor Pyatt scored a goal at 9:35 in the first period to give the Coyotes a 1-0 lead, and that would have been enough to win the game. However, Pyatt added an empty net goal at 19:40 in the third period to widen the margin of victory by a second point.
Coyotes goalie Jason LaBarbera was a brick wall all night, stopping all 34 shots he faced. He took the first start of the game. Colorado's Craig Anderson, third star of the game, stopped 31 of 32 shots, but the team's offense gave him no chance at all to pick up a win. Pyatt's two goals gave him the second star of the game.
The Avalanche (21-15-5, 47 points) have only won two games over their last eight contests, and neither win has come in regulation. They are off Friday and then host the New York Islanders on Saturday afternoon. The puck drops at 1:00 p.m. MT and Altitude will televise the game.