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NHL

Avs Close Gap in Western Race

Posted Feb 20, 2009 10:33PM By Ted Starkey (RSS feed)

Filed Under: Avalanche, Capitals

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While the Avalanche began a six-game road trip in Washington minus their injured stars John-Michael Liles, Paul Stastny and Joe Sakic, a very unlikely source tightened the very unusual Western Conference playoff race even further.

With the 4-1 win over the Caps Friday night at Verizon Center, Colorado moved into a three-way tie for last place in the conference - but only trail Edmonton by five points for the final playoff spot in the West.

The key goal for Colorado came off the stick of Adam Foote - who hadn't scored a goal since Oct. 6, 2007, a span of 105 games played between the Blue Jackets and Avalanche - who gave the Avs a link they wouldn't relinquish. Foote snuck in from the point and buried a MIlan Hedjuk centering pass from behind the net, and earned his first game-winning tally since March 10, 2004, when he beat Ty Conkin for an overtime game winner in Edmonton.

Foote described the goal for the Denver Post:
"I'm not sure I would have felt comfortable enough to do that if [Ovechkin] were out there," Foote said. "(Milan) Hejduk made the play with me. He's got the vision - gave me a great pass."
He certainly was appreciated more for it than his last goal, over 17 months ago.
"And I got in trouble for it," Foote said with a laugh. "[Columbus coach Ken Hitchcock] said, 'Stay on the blue line.' "
Ryan Smyth also played a big role in the victory, scoring the Avs' first goal of the night and assisting on two others as the team burned their former netminder Jose Theodore with four goals on 25 shots. Theodore, who had made some pointed comments at Colorado management following the team's failure to keep the unrestricted free agent last summer, hardly performed at the level he has been playing for the last two months, while Colorado goaltender Andrew Raycroft turned aside 28 of 29 drives on net.

With the victory, the Avs won their third game in a row and earned their 56th and 57th points of the season, pulling even with the Blues and Coyotes for a three-way tie for 13th. And, with Edmonton holding the last spot with 62 points, that means the bottom eight teams in the West are separated by only five points The Ducks (who lost to Detroit Friday) are at 61 points, the Wild have 60 points, the Kings have 59 points and the Predators hold 58 points.

Colorado won their third straight game with the victory, capping a perfect 3-0-0 week by handing the Capitals just their fifth regulation loss at Verizon Center, and holding Alexander Ovechkin off the scoresheet for the first time in 10 games. It also was a rare win in Washington for Colorado, as the team hadn't beaten the Capitals since Patrick Roy broke the all-time wins record for a goaltender in a 4-3 overtime victory on Oct. 17, 2000 at the then-MCI Center, and had never earned a regulation win in the building. The Avs' last win on the Caps' home ice came in one of the final games ever played at the US Air Arena in Landover, Md., in October of 1997.

It also was a milestone for Avalanche coach Tony Granato, who becomes just the 10th American-born head coach to win 100 NHL games. Despite the Avs being two games below .500 after the win, the Avs are a league-best 18-0-0 when leading after 40 minutes.

The intrigue in the West promises to only deepen, as it's going to be hard for teams to be sellers at the deadline when they're only a couple of points out of a postseason berth. And for Colorado, with Liles and Stastny expected back on the road trip and Sakic's probable return in March, it could be a tight chase towards the finish line.

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