In Denver, Philipp Grubauer made 34 saves and the Colorado Avalanche shut out the Ottawa Senators, 3-0, on Tuesday night.
“I feel good, seeing the puck really well, thanks to the guys,” Grubauer said. “They’re making things easy. If you play the way we’re playing, it makes things easy for me back there. That’s what we need to do.”
Philipp Grubauer got the shutout for the Avalanche – file photo by Lewis Bleiman
Valeri Nichushkin, Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog were the Avs strikers.
“I didn’t think we had our best legs,” Colorado head coach Jared Bednar said. “We were probably a little bit tired coming home (after a five-game road trip), getting to altitude. It seemed like we were a little bit mentally tired too. Overall, I didn’t mind our game. It’s a tough game to play after a long road trip. Coming home for that first one on not much rest, I thought our guys did a nice job tonight sticking with it.”
Colorado is one point back of the St Louis for first place in the Central Division.
“I think it’s come to the realization that to win down the stretch and certainly in the playoffs you have to be good defensively,” the Avalanche’s Ian Cole said. “Teams aren’t going to let you skate through the neutral zone with the puck unchallenged. If we’re not responsible, if we’re not reloading in the forecheck, we’re going to get run out of the building come those meaningful games.”
[WATCH:Â All Senators vs. Avalanche highlights]
Marcus Hogberg made 33 saves in the loss.
“[Hogberg] battled,” Ottawa head coach D.J. Smith said. “He played like our team played tonight; that was hard, and he played hard. He gave us every chance to win. Unfortunately, [Grubauer] was really good down there. It is what it is. I’m happy with our group.”
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