The Colorado Avalanche put together their most successful week to date of this season and kept their playoff hopes alive by winning all three games and earning six out of six available points in the week concluding on Mar. 8. The Avs kicked off the week at home with a 3-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday, blanked the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets to the tune of 4-0 on Saturday, and then went on the road and beat the division rival Minnesota Wild for the first time all season on the second half of a back-to-back set on Sunday. The Avs never trailed during any of the three victories.
Despite being written off by many in the hockey world, the Avalanche are refusing to throw in the towel on what has been a tumultuous season. The club currently sits seven points out of the final playoff position in the Western Conference with 16 games remaining.
Gabriel Landeskog, Semyon Varlamov, and Jarome Iginla clearly stood out as the Avs’ three stars in an unblemished and crucial week in their playoff push:
First Star ★ Semyon Varlamov, Goalie
Varlamov – who has started the last 22 games for Colorado – was nothing short of spectacular while stopping 101 of the 103 shots he faced and backstopping the Avs to three consecutive wins. He was near perfect while compiling an eye-popping 0.69 goals-against average with an astronomical .981 save percentage that included one shutout on the week. The Russian netminder started the week by holding Sydney Crosby and the Penguins, one of the NHL’s most potent offenses, to just one goal on 29 shots. The 26-year-old followed that up with a 44-save blanking of the Blue Jackets for his fifth shutout of the season. Varlamov was shaken up when he took a shot around the neck/shoulder area against the Wild, but still made 29 saves before leaving the game late in the third period. Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy said his goalie was dealing with a lower body injury in his post-game press conference. If Varlamov is able to start the Avs’ next game, he will tie Craig Anderson for the club record at 23 consecutive starts. Varlamov was also awarded the NHL’s second star of the week as well for sensational efforts. He is 22-17-7 with a .921 save percentage on the season.
Second Star ★ Gabriel Landeksog, Left Wing
Landeskog continued his scorching-hot recent stretch by registering three goals (one in each game) and three assists for six points with a plus-2 rating and a team-leading three power play points on the week. If it were any other week, Landeskog would have easily earned the first star selection. The Avalanche captain has truly put the team on his back as they push for the playoffs. The 22-year-old has nine goals and fifteen points in the club’s last 12 games. Landeskog got the week started by chipping in on all three of his team’s goals with a career-high three-point performance against the Penguins. His goal against Pittsburgh was a work of art as he undressed defenseman Derrick Pouliot and then beat Marc-Andre Fleury with a quick snap shot from the slot. “It was sort of a one-on-one I guess and he was on my side and I felt him coming towards me and I cut back and kept going,” Landeskog said. “Low-blocker usually works on left-handed goalies so I tried that and it worked.” The Stockholm, Sweden native closed out the week by scoring the game-winning goal in a pivotal win in the hostile Xcel Energy Center in Minnesota. Landeskog is tied for first on the team with 46 points on the season, thanks much in part to his late-season surge.
Third Star ★ Jarome Iginla, Right Wing
Iginla had yet another impressive week, scoring two goals and four points in three games. He tied for the team lead with two goals and three points on the man advantage, helping to spark the Avs’ 29th ranked power play. Iginla got things started for Colorado when he took a pass in the neutral zone, skated the puck across the blueline, and stepped into a cannon for the opening goal against the Penguins – who Iginla played for during the 2012-13 season. In the next game, he released another bomb from the point for the game-winner against the Blue Jackets. The 37-year-old closed out the week with two assists, including one on the game-winning goal, in Minnesota. Iginla was also second on the team with nine shots on net for the week. The future Hall-of-Famer leads the Avalanche with 21 goals and is tied for the team lead with 46 points on the season.
Nathan is a staff writer for Mile High Sports. He can be reached on Twitter at @TheRealNatron.
