In Denver on Monday night, the visiting Carolina Hurricanes did damage the Colorado Avalanche’s playoff aspirations with a 3-0 decision over the Avs.
Petr Mrazek made 38 saves to the shutout.
Petr Mrazek made 38 saves for shutout – file photo by Lewis Bleiman
The win pushed the Canes back into third place in the Metropolitan Division.
“I felt pretty good,” Mrazek said. “Two big points on the line. The result, that’s what we wanted. Every game means a lot, it’s a lot on the line. Doesn’t matter where we are right now. We have to keep grinding and keep working hard.”
Andrei Svechnikov struck for two goals and added an assist on the third Carolina goal.
“That was special,” Carolina head coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “I haven’t seen some of those saves in a game. We gave up a little too much, obviously, but [Avalanche goalie Philipp Grubauer] made some saves, too. It was a good game, it was back and forth. They’ve got a good group and talent over there. At the end of the day, [Mrazek] has been solid all year.”
Dougie Hamilton also scored for the Canes.
“(I) feel great with those guys (Jordan Staal and Teuvo Teravainen),” Svechnikov said . “We got some chemistry in the last couple of periods and it’s amazing playing with those guys.”
The Canes are 7-1-1 in their last nine matches and hold the tie breaker, for now, with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
They improved to 38-24-7 overall.
For the Avs, it was another disappointing loss due to a lack of offensive push back.
“It’s frustrating,” the Avs’ Colin Wilson said. “We played a good game, just couldn’t put the puck in the net. [Mrazek] did a good job. I think one or two of those, I should have buried them.”
[WATCH: All Hurricanes vs. Avalanche highlights]
Philipp Grubauer made 30 saves in the loss.
“We got to capitalize on our chances,” Grubauer said. “Overall, it was a good game. They’re a really skilled team, very offensive oriented. We got some chances, too, but we got to keep playing and chip away, chip away. We missed out on two important points.”
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