Barrie Leads Avs Over Penguins

The Colorado Avalanche had a big absence on the blue line against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday, but Tyson Barrie stepped up in a colossal way.
Barrie found the back of the net twice and had a game-high 11 shot attempts to help fill it for the Avs as the club skated to a 4-2 victory over the two-time, defending-Stanley Cup champion Penguins.

"I thought Tyson was outstanding tonight," said Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar. "I loved the way he was shooting the puck. I don't know what he had for shot attempts, I haven't checked the stats yet, but every time the puck got in his hands on the blue line on the rush, he was getting his body around and getting it back to the net. He ends up scoring two goals because of it."
The defenseman registered five shots on goal, had five attempts blocked and one missed shot in the contest.
Barrie extended his point streak to three games (two goals, four assists) and has 27 points (four goals, 23 assists) this season, which ties him for first among league blueliners. The Victoria, British Columbia, native saw his role increase in the contest after Erik Johnson was suspended for two-games by the NHL on Sunday afternoon.

"Obviously, you can't replace E.J., and you know it will be nice to get him back here after another game," said Barrie. "Everyone has just got to step up and do the best they can, and collectively we can try to pick up the slack."
He got the Avalanche on the board first when he fired a shot past Pittsburgh goaltender Matt Murray after receiving a drop pass from Matt Nieto while Blake Comeau was driving to the net as a screen.
"The first one, [I was] just kind of jumping in the play," he said after the contest. "Nietsy made a nice play to me and I just saw a little land and I tried to shoot it and I was fortunate it found the top corner."
Barrie's second tally came on the power play with assists from Sven Andrighetto and Mikko Rantanen. The blueliner fired it from the point through traffic and didn't even see the puck hit net.

"It was just run of the mill, one-timer, point shot. I didn't even see it so I am not even sure how it got through," said Barrie. "Carl [Soderberg] I think was screening, so I thought he might of got it. Just try to get it on net and Carl did a great job screening him."
His two-goal effort was the first time an Avalanche rear guard lit the lamp twice in an outing since Feb. 20, 2016 when Barrie scored twice at the Edmonton Oilers.
J.T. Compher netted Colorado's third goal, the eventual game-winner, by collecting the rebound after an odd-man rush and hitting the puck while it was in mid-air to send it past Murry.

"Good job pushing the pace by Andrighetto and [Colin Wilson]," said Compher. "Wilson drove to the net and Andrighetto put it off the pad and I was able to just knock it in."
The Compher-centered line combined for 16 shot attempts in the contest and was buzzing the entire game.
"I thought our line did a really good job getting chances tonight," said Compher. "Andrighetto and Wilson were great. I think we all had somewhere around three or four shots so we were getting some good scoring chances."
Andrighetto's two helpers matched his career high of two points in a game, his 15th career multi-point performance and his tenth since joining the Avalanche.
"That line was really good. I liked all three of those guys," said Bednar. "Tenacious on pucks, strong in the battles, and the wingers Andrighetto and Wilson--they were winning all the D-zone wall battles. Wilson, he got every puck that came around his wall out and that leads to some speed coming onto the puck with Andrighetto and Compher.
"Getting to the hard areas of the ice, getting to the inside of the ice in the offensive zone, they did a lot of really good things."

The Avalanche wrapped up the season series against the Penguins with a sweep as the Avs defeated the Pens 2-1 the previous Monday in Pittsburgh. It is the first time that Colorado has won both contests against the Penguins since the 2002-03 campaign.
"We are rolling as a team. We are getting better," Bednar said. "We were good. We were a dangerous team and playing on our toes tonight. I think it shows that we are gradually becoming more consistent at what we are supposed to do."

SPECIAL TEAMS

Barrie's second tally was the Avs' 25th goal on the power-play this season, sixth most in the NHL. The marker broke a streak of 23 straight successful penalty kills by the Penguins.
"They are taking a look at the things that they need to do, which is the basics of our power play," Bednar said. "Not overcomplicating things and looking for the next play, but taking what the other team gives you. That's what they did the last couple games, and they got rewarded for it."
Colorado held Pittsburgh scoreless on three opportunities with the extra skater, extending its penalty-killing streak to a season-high 16 in a row. The Avs have only allowed four man-advantage goals in 54 chances at home, the third-best home penalty kill in the league.
The 16 straight penalty kills is the longest streak for the Avalanche since the 2015-16 season when the Avs had 25 consecutive kills.

HOME SWEET HOME

The Avalanche improved to 10-6-1 at home this season with the victory to wrap up its three-game homestand. The team heads west for two outings at the Los Angeles Kings and Arizona Coyotes before the NHL Holiday Break.
After the break, the Avs will play their next six games at Pepsi Center in their longest homestand of the season.
"I think we would be doing our team a disservice if we didn't address how important this particular stretch is at home and what it means to our group in order to stay in the [playoff] hunt," Bednar said before the game. "Put a little pressure on ourselves to be good every night. We feel like if we play our game that we give ourselves a good chance to win.
"We have to keep looking at this short term and continuing to get more consistent at what we do and then hopefully the result takes care of itself."
Colorado has won four of its last six contests and is currently four points out of a playoff spot.