Unlikely hero propels Avalanche to rare home win

It was funny walking into the Avalanche locker room tonight. Players tend to stay in the same lockers for years at a time so when you walk in, you tend to know where you’re going based on which player you’re wanting to talk to after a game.

With his call-up happening yesterday and me not working morning skate this morning (Adrian took care of that, fist bumps AD), I walked in and for the first time in a long time found myself a little out of my element.

Where was Andrew Agozzino?

The media mob was slow to find the 28-year-old forward, much like opportunity and success in the NHL has been. It only seemed natural for one last slight delay before a player with 459 AHL games played had his moment in front of the cameras following his two-point night, including his first career NHL goal, as he helped drive the Avalanche to a 3-0 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights.

“I’ve been waiting a long time for that moment and it was just special,” Agozzino said. “It’s tough to put into words. A lot of emotion after I saw it go in. Pure excitement.”

The goal came at 5:47 of the second period when Nathan MacKinnon and Gabe Landeskog cycled the puck before Landeskog found Agozzino alone in the slot and he buried the one-timer behind Malcolm Subban. It’s a play he’ll remember forever.

“MacK put it down to the goal line to Landy and I looked over my shoulder and there was nobody around me and I thought, ‘Well he’s a pretty good player, he’s probably going to find a way to get it to me so be ready to get it off quick. I think it went blocker side. After that, I just kind of blacked out and emotion took over.”

The win tonight ended a six-game losing streak at Pepsi Center for the Avalanche and moved them just one point out of a playoff spot behind the slumping Minnesota Wild. Hidden in the struggles at home and overtime foibles that have prevented Colorado from securing additional points, Colorado has quietly amassed points in five of their last seven games.

While they’ve now won two of their last three, they’ve played eight straight games against teams currently in the playoffs, going 2-3-3. It’s still not great but it’s significantly more stable than it had been. Semyon Varlamov played lights out again, stopping all 40 saves for his second shutout of the season.

And yet, the story of the night was still the unlikeliest of heroes. Despite finding consistent AHL success (342 points in his 459 AHL games and 50 points in 48 games for the Colorado Eagles this year), opportunities in the NHL have been slower to come: Tonight was just the 11th NHL game of his career.

“You do dream about that first goal until it comes,” Agozzino said. “It’s been a little longer for me than most guys so I think I appreciate it a lot more. It’s definitely something I’m looking forward to sharing with my family.

Agozzino had told reporters before the game he wasn’t sure what he would do with the puck if he managed to scored his first career goal. As the hockey gods would have it, he did get that goal tonight. Now, what happens to the puck?

“I’m sure my dad’s going to call me for it already,” he said laughing. “It will probably go up somewhere in my house in a nice frame but I think he’s going to fight me for it.”

As Colorado continues fighting for their spot in the playoffs, it was an unexpected hero in Agozzino who helped them continue to prove they belong in the postseason dance.

I might have struggled to find Agozzino after the game but it’s a safe bet Winnipeg will have a pretty good idea where he is when he touches the ice on Wednesday when the Jets visit Pepsi Center.

Takeaways from the game

• The Tyson Jost goal to open the scoring in the first period was nothing short of nasty. He forechecked hard, outworking three Vegas players and creating two loose pucks, the second of which he won the battle for and turned and fired. It was the seventh goal of the year and first since returning from his AHL stint. Overall, Jost looked significantly better tonight than he had in some time in a Colorado sweater.
• The lines sure looked like the coaching staff said yolo and threw jello at the wall to create the lineup but the changes flat-out worked. MacKinnon was a man possessed once again and finished the night with an assist, four shots on goal, and even two takeaways. The big change for him tonight? Full engagement in all 200 feet of the ice. Maybe getting him away from the defensive crutch that was Landeskog helped remind MacKinnon he’s supposed to be this team’s best player.
• He’s gotten a whole lot of flak from me and others the last few months but Varlamov’s play sure appears to have steadied greatly in the last two weeks. Six of his last nine appearances have ended with him over a .900 save percentage for the game, a big step forward from the .880 range he was getting too comfortable with for a while there. Three of his last four starts have seen him post a .938 save percentage or better. Colorado is 2-1-1 in those starts.
• I’ve got an issue with the rule that nearly prevented Matt Calvert’s goal from counting tonight and did disallow a Colin Wilson goal earlier this season. I understand the NHL doesn’t want players punching pucks into the net but Calvert had his hand on his stick the entire time, as did Wilson earlier this year, when both players went to swat at the puck. The only difference between them was the puck hit Calvert’s glove and then the tiniest portion of his stick before going into the net and Wilson’s never hit the stick. Both players had their hands on the stick at the time they swung. It worked out for Colorado tonight but overall that’s a common sense rule change I’d like to see the league consider sooner than later.
• Given Colorado’s terrible fortune lately, it’s hard to believe I wrote “it worked out for Colorado tonight” in regards to a goal review call. They’ve had a few go their way lately but overall lady luck was definitely in Colorado’s corner tonight. I don’t remember who shot it but Vegas had one shot beat Varlamov cleanly, hit the cross, then deflect off the post and back out. Those are game-changing inches that finally went Colorado’s way. The margin of error in this league can be just that small sometimes.
• I continue to be a really big fan of Colorado’s play at even strength but since the fiasco against Toronto where they gave up three PPGs in under two minutes, the Avalanche PK has been simply outstanding. They actually had more scoring chances on the first Vegas PP of the night than Vegas did.
• This was a true team effort tonight as only Patrik Nemeth, Alexander Kerfoot, and A.J. Greer failed to record shots on goal tonight.
• In a bit of a rarity, only two Colorado players surpassed 20 minutes played tonight: Erik Johnson and Sam Girard. Girard led the Avs with 21:51 played.