Postgame Notes & Quotes Colorado Avalanche 2, Montreal Canadiens 0 Wednesday, February 14, 2018
The Avalanche extended its home winning streak to 10 games, matching the franchise record for consecutive home wins set by the Quebec Nordiques in 1994-95 and 1983- 84. It’s the longest home win streak for the Avalanche since the club relocated to Denver and tied for the longest home winning stretch by any NHL team this season (Washington).
The Avalanche has scored the first goal in every game during the streak—which began Dec. 29, 2017—and has never trailed, outscoring opponents 38-14 throughout the run.
Colorado is 27-5-2 when scoring first this season, tied for the second-most wins of any NHL team when getting on the scoreboard first.
Wednesday marked the 3,000th game in Avalanche/Nordiques history and the 1,500th home contest in franchise history (1,256 as the Nordiques and 1,744 as the Avalanche). Colorado owns a 1373-1255-261-111 all-time record (.520).
Colorado improved to 4-4-1 on Valentine’s Day, playing on the holiday for the fourth straight year and ninth time since moving to Denver.
The Avalanche improved to 11-2-1 at home against Montreal since moving to Denver.
Semyon Varlamov registered his second shutout of the season (Oct. 9 at Boston) and 23rd of his career. Of those 23 shutouts, 19 have come as a member of the Avalanche, the second-most in franchise history (Patrick Roy, 37).
Gabriel Bourque tallied an assist and has registered four points (3g, 1a) over his last five games.
The Avs are now 18-10-1 against the Eastern Conference this season, including an 8- 2-0 record in their last 10.
Colorado finished 4-for-4 on the penalty kill and is now 83-for-90 (92.2%) on the PK on home ice this season, the league’s best home penalty kill. The Avs have only allowed seven power-play goals at home in 2017-18, the fewest in the NHL (the next fewest a team has allowed is 11).
Carl Soderberg tallied the game-winning goal for the second time in 2017-18 (Jan. 6 vs. Minnesota). It was the eighth deciding goal of his career.
Alexander Kerfoot notched his 14th goal of the season, and his 34 points are tied for eighth among NHL rookies.
Gabriel Landeskog matched a season high with seven shots.
Colorado G Semyon Varlamov On Tonight’s Game: “I mean that was a heavy game, very difficult to play. It seems like they were shooting from everywhere [tonight], you know but we battled the entire game. We won [tonight], I’m very happy about it because we know how important those two points [are]. We have to play every game like the last game. That’s how we are going to make playoffs.”
On Playing At Home For The First Time In Six Weeks: “I felt pretty confident before the game. I just tried to stay focused and have a good start.”
Colorado C Carl Soderberg On Tonight’s Game: “I don’t think our first period was very good but I think we played pretty good in the second. We got that lead and I think we sat back a little bit too much in the third but we still got the win, so that’s good.”
On His Goal: “I had a step on the D and I just tried to get it to the net and I was fortunate to get that goal.”
Colorado C Alexander Kerfoot On Scoring First: “It’s so much different playing with a lead than trying to catch up, especially at home when we can get the lead and get our fans into the game and just kind of put teams under duress. That’s when we are playing our best hockey and it’s worked for us.”
On Colorado G Semyon Varlamov’s Performance: “He was unbelievable and he’s been like that all year long for us. He won the game for us singlehandedly tonight. It’s just too many neutral-zone turnovers, especially I had way too many and at this level you just can’t have that.”
Montreal LW Alex Galchenyuk On The 5-on-3: “It was unfortunate in a close game like that, to have a 5-on-3 and I think we made a few mistakes. We had to capitalize on that opportunity and we didn’t, so that [stinks].”
On Montreal G Antti Niemi: “It’s not always about shots, it’s about the opportunities and they had a lot of good chances. I thought he played an amazing game for us and gave us a chance to win. We didn’t find a way to put the puck on net and get a win for him.”
Montreal G Antti Niemi On His Performance: “Overall I felt pretty good. Especially on the road we need some great games from individuals, so I would like to be able to step up and make those saves.”
On The Avs’ Offensive Pressure In The Second Period: “I just felt like we battled through it. I’m sure the guys felt it, especially here in Colorado. We battled through it and I felt pretty confident about our game after.”