The Colorado Avalanche have struggled lately, and a lack of effort has been especially concerting the past week. There was no lack of effort in the second period, as the Avalanche outworked and outhustled the Phoenix Coyotes the entire period. Unfortunately, it was a bad break that kept the Avalanche off the scoreboard and allowed Phoenix to double their lead late in the period.
Despite being the faster and more dominant team for most of the period, Colorado failed to convert on two power plays. Ilya Bryzgalov has stopped all 19 shots he’s faced.
Late in the period, Phoenix caught a break as Kyle Turris completely missed a shot on net. The puck drifted towards the open net and Scottie Upshall was able to flick it past Craig Anderson for his team-leading 16th goal of the season.
Phoenix has outshot Colorado by a 19-14 margin, though Colorado had a 8-6 advantage in the second period.