Avs beat up Ducks to finish Rookie Showcase unbeaten

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For the second straight day, the kids of the Colorado Avalanche bested the kids of a Pacific Division foe in the Rookie Showcase, this time victimizing the Anaheim Ducks to the tune of a 3-2 victory. Despite being a preseason game featuring very few players who will see significant NHL ice time this season, the game was not without its fireworks.

The Ducks came out blazing in the first period, dominating the first five minutes of the game and scoring the game’s first goal just 1:34 into the contest and taking a 1-0 lead. The lead would hold up for half the period but the Avalanche would head to the power play and a Nicolas Meloche goal at 13:13 would bring the score back to tied and give Colorado their second PP goal in as many games. The teams would see the score hold up through the end of the first.

The second period would see the intensity take a big step up and the physicality throughout continued to rise. The Avalanche would strike first in the second period when Gustav Olhaver scored on a great shot that beat the Ducks goaltender short side at the 8:46 mark. The Ducks would respond late in the second when Avs defenseman Cody Corbett carelessly turned the puck over on the power play and Julius Nattinen and Tyler Soy combined for a tic-tac-toe 2-on-1 goal the other way to send the game into the third period knotted at 2 apiece.

Not looking to waste much time, the Avalanche would re-take the lead when defenseman Chris Bigras blasted a shot from the point past the helpless Ducks, his second bomb of a goal in as many days. The Bigras goal would hold up for the final tally despite the Ducks having a five minute power play courtesy of a reckless and extremely dangerous boarding by Nikita Zadorov.

THREE STARS

1. Chris Bigras – game-winning goal (played solid defense throughout and really impacted the game consistently)
2. Spencer Martin – Faced an onslaught during the Ducks’ five minute power play in the third period but held strong, got the win
3. Nicolas Meloche – 1 goal (all-around stud defenseman throughout the door and could have had multiple goals)

PLAY OF THE GAME

The Bigras game-winning goal was a thing of beauty as the puck was cycled through the Avalanche offensive zone and eventually landed on Bigras’ stick. He corralled the puck, stepped around an oncoming defender, and blasted home a slap shot for his second goal of that variety in as many days.

TURNING POINT

The Zadorov boarding left Ducks forward Nic Kerdiles laying on the ice for several minutes and brought the arena to a concerned silence. Ultimately, Kerdiles would get up on his own power and leave the game. Zadorov would be ejected and the Ducks would spend the next five minutes with a man advantage. Nothing would come of it, however, and the Avalanche, led by Martin’s brilliance, would be victorious.

BY THE NUMBERS

With a new system in place, the Avalanche held their own against a talented Ducks squad that features a number of future NHL players but were outshot 32-27 overall. Through both of their Rookie Showcase games, the Avalanche were 2-for-6 on the power play and killed off all 10 power plays their opposition had.