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DENVER -- Semyon Varlamov showed there were no lingering effects from a disappointing finish at the Winter Olympics. Peyton Manning White Jersey . Varlamov stopped 40 shots in his first game after playing for Russia in the Sochi Olympics, including 18 in the third period, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Phoenix Coyotes 4-2 on Friday night. Varlamov won his first two starts in the Olympics, but was pulled in the second period of a 3-1 loss to Finland after allowing three goals on 15 shots. Any hangover from that disappointment was quickly dispelled with his performance Friday. "I wasnt concerned about it," Avalanche coach Patrick Roy said. "When I saw Varly after the Olympics, I saw a big smile on his face. I knew he was ready to bounce back. The key was giving him the night off against L.A., give him the time to feel really comfortable." Varlamov said the extra time off helped. "Yeah, I think those days helped me," he said. "I was tired emotionally and it gave me some rest. I got back into a normal routine, trained with my goalie coach." Gabriel Landeskog had a goal and two assists and Paul Stastny had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche. Nate Guenin also scored for Colorado, which bounced back from blowing a two-goal lead in a loss to Los Angeles on Wednesday. Guenins goal was his first in nearly two years after spending all of last season in the American Hockey League. "We wanted this one bad," Guenin said. "We felt we let one slip away the other night. We really wanted these two points." Shane Doan had two goals and Thomas Greiss had 29 saves for Phoenix, which lost 3-2 in a shootout at Winnipeg on Thursday night, is 0-2-1 in its last three games to hurt its playoff chances in the seasons final six weeks. "We lost. There isnt much to feel good about," Doan said. "It comes down to the last 20 games. It always does. We have to figure out a way to get more points." The Avalanche are comfortably in the playoff picture, but are chasing Chicago and St. Louis in the Central Division. With 22 games remaining, they trailed the Blackhawks by three but they have a game in hand on Chicago, which sits second in the division. The Coyotes had a chance to pull this one out before Colorado broke it open early in the third. Guenins first goal since March 19, 2012, while playing for Anaheim came when he beat Greiss from the top of the right circle 48 seconds into the third period to give Colorado a 2-1 lead. "Its about time. Just good timing there," Guenin said. "The puck slipped through and I kind of saw an opening." Stastny scored on Nathan MacKinnons rebound at 6:12 of the third to make it 3-1. Doans second goal of the game at 13:58 of the third made cut it to one, but Landeskog restored the two-goal advantage with his 19th nearly three minutes later. "We pushed hard to get ourselves in it, which was a positive sign," Phoenix coach Dave Tippett said. "Doan and (Mike) Boedker were pushing hard, but we have to have everybody on the same page. And our margin for error is very slim. Mistakes cost us." The teams traded power-play goals in the first period. Doan gave the Coyotes a 1-0 lead with his 16th goal at 12:47, and Parenteau answered 2:51 later with his 12th to tie it. The teams had several scoring chances in the second period, but each goalie made 10 saves. NOTES: Colorado has scored five power-play goals in the last two games. ... MacKinnon had two assists to extend his point streak to 10 games, the longest active run in the NHL. ... Avalanche D Erik Johnson was out of the lineup to serve the second of his two-game suspension for his slash on New York Islanders C Frans Nielsen on Feb. 8. ... Coyotes D Oliver Ekman-Larssons assist on the first goal gave him a career high for a single season with 22. ... Colorado LW Maxime Talbot returned after missing Wednesdays game to be with his fiancee, who gave birth to the couples first child, son Jaxon. Cody Latimer Broncos Jersey . The Dodgers on Saturday announced they have signed free-agent reliever Brian Wilson to a $10 million, one-year deal to stay with the team. Bradley Roby Blue Jersey. During halftime, Love told The Associated Press he would receive treatment Saturday night and hoped to play Monday night against Houston. "I knew that my quad was bothering me pretty bad so I went out there and tried to move around a little bit and it just wasnt quite right," Love said.Every night of the Stanley Cup playoffs, TSN hockey analyst and former NHL goaltender Jamie McLennan breaks down each goalies performance. Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Semyon Varlamov, Colorado (4) - Outstanding all game long, great on Zach Parise, Mikko Koivu and Ryan Suter, showing why he is in the Vezina race. His athleticism is really evident, especially on Parise save in the 2nd period. Ilya Bryzgalov, Minnesota (2) - Pulled after going 11 for 14, Not a ton of help on two of the goals, but Nathan Mackinnons goal was leaky, and Gabriel Landeskogs was short side. Wild head coach Mike Yeo pulls him for Darcy Kuemper to shake things up Darcy Kuemper, Minnesota (5) - He was perfect in relief, did what he had to do to stop the bleeding and try and change momentum, not overly worked. Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh (3) - Not much he couuld do on the trying and GWG, back door play and lost coverage. Bradley Roby Grey Jersey. Was steady all game long, very active stick on wraparounds. Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus (3) - He had a tough start but settled in quickly and really gave his team a chance at 3 to 1. Big saves on Chris Kunitz and Lee Stempniak preserved the win for Columbus Corey Crawford, Chicago (2) - Gave up a late goal through screen where he didnt have much chance, but the GWG in OT was through the body and stoppable. He made a huge save on Steve Ott shorthanded that I thought turned the tide for the Hawks early on but was unable to close the door when it was needed most. Ryan Miller (3) - Gave up all three goals to D men, where there was a screen and or tip involved. He was real good in tight in this game and managed his movement and crease well. Saves on Brandon Saad and Kris Versteeg were evidence of that. ' ' ' |
