Jost Scores First NHL Goal In Loss

It was hard to tell what the fans cheered louder for on Thursday night, Colorado Avalanche rookie Tyson Jost scoring his first NHL goal or his grandpa, Jim Jost, weeping tears of joy on PepsiVision when the marker was announced.
Either way, the crowd erupted for what was certainly a momentous occasion, which came fittingly on Fan Appreciation Night at Pepsi Center.
"It's special. It's nice to do it in front of the home crowd," Jost said of the play. "Hopefully there's going to many more of those at home and on the road, too. It's just disappointing that we couldn't get that win, for sure.
"It's nice to get that goal, but it's disappointing."

The fact that Jost scored his first-ever tally for the Avs against the Minnesota Wild essentially makes him a folk hero. It's akin to a rookie tallying versus the Detroit Red Wings in the storied days of yesteryear, when the rivalry burned bright.
And the marker was a nice play, as well. Linemate and Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog fed the puck across Minnesota's zone, through forward Rocco Grimaldi to Jost, who corralled the pass, skated through a downed stick on the ice and fired the biscuit home.
"He makes a great play on the goal," head coach Jared Bednar said of the play. "Just to make that shot in general, gathering it on his backhand, getting it to his forehand, then still having to avoid the stick that's laying on the ice there and then getting it up over [Devan] Dubnyk's shoulder; it's a high-skilled play."
"I was just the trailer, F3, and Landy made a great pass over to me," Jost said. "I think he was trying to go to Rocco and it went off his stick. Just happened to be on my tape, and I was little worried about that stick in my way there. I just tried to make a move around it and get a quick release, and it went over his shoulder. It was nice to get that at home and get that off my chest, but it's disappointing that we didn't get that win."
First goals don't always happen like that, so it was a memorable experience for the 19-year-old center.

"When I came back to the bench, Landy said, 'My first was off my skate, and it didn't feel as good.' So it was nice to get it as a shot," Jost admitted. "It was a great play, so a lot of credit is to my lineman for finding me in the slot."
"You don't see the first goal be as nice as that one. I told him about mine in Columbus in 2011," Landeskog elaborated. "I was trying to jump out of the way and just screen the goalie, and it goes off my skate and in. It wasn't nearly as nice as Tyson's was. It was pretty, and I'm sure we'll see more of those."
In a way, the goal was exactly what Jost had fantasized of whenever he thought about potting that first tally, and in a way, it wasn't.
"It's kind of hard to put a finger on what you dream of. I'm sure there's been a lot of scenarios that went through my head about my first goal," said Jost. "I'm just happy. Today was the day, and it's just nice to get that off my chest and finally have a puck find the back of the net."
The experience is something he'll never forget, and it's special to him because he got to share it with at least one important member of his family.

"It's amazing. I'm a little bit disappointed that I couldn't have my mom in the stands," Jost said. "She had to go back home and work and look out for my sister, but it's great to have my grandpa. He's kind of my secret weapon throughout my whole life. He knows a lot about hockey. I don't think people realize how great of a hockey mind he has. He helped me a lot. Like I said, it's disappointing that my mom wasn't in the stands, but I'm sure she's cheering from afar."
Having been paired with Jost for the majority of the rookie's four games with the club, Landeskog said he's been impressed with what he's seen from the St. Albert, Alberta, native.
"He's shown a lot of potential," Landeskog said of his linemate. "It's not easy to come in just like that and start making an impact, but he's made an impact right from the first game and shown a lot of talent and determination. He's not afraid to go to the dirty areas, and obviously tonight he shows off his skill with a quick shot. But he's been fun to play with so far, and he's got a bright future."
Both players were ultimately disappointed with the Avalanche's 4-3 loss to Minnesota. The squad wanted to push through and win one last match at home for the fans.

"They've been great all year long. We talked about that the last couple days," Landeskog said. "They've come out and supported us through ups and downs, and obviously this year it's been a lot of downs, but they stuck with us. That means a lot for us to know that they're behind us. We know that they demand more than they've gotten so far this year, and we demand a lot more from ourselves as well. This hasn't been good enough, but for them just in general, to keep showing up and keep cheering for us and keep making signs for warmup and keep making road games and things like that, it means a lot for us."
The Avs conclude the 2016-17 campaign with one last back-to-back set on the road, at the Dallas Stars on Saturday and the St. Louis Blues on Sunday.

SVEN AGAIN

There's just something about Sven Andrighetto that screams points.
The Avalanche forward picked up his 21st point of the season when he assisted on defenseman Francois Beauchemin's tally in the second period, and it came in the Zurich, Switzerland, native's 100th career NHL contest.
The marker tied the match at 2-2 and was a sign of the Avs pushing back from an early 2-0 deficit.
The assist was Andrighetto's 13th point (five goals, eight assists) in his 17th game since being acquired on March 1 in a trade-deadline deal with the Montreal Canadiens.
"He's probably been our most consistent player since he came into the team," Landeskog said of the Swiss sensation. "He brought a lot of energy and lot of patience with the puck. He's making plays, and he surprised me and I'm sure he surprised a lot of guys with how skilled he is and the plays that he's making. So it's good to see him get rewarded with, what should have been a game-tying goal, but also an assist on [Francois Beauchemin's] goal."
The 24-year-old right wing led all Avalanche players in March in both points (11) and goals (5). He had a career-long four-game point streak from March 23-29, which included back-to-back multi-point contests on March 27 at the Calgary Flames (two goals) and March 29 versus the Washington Capitals (two assists), both of which tied career highs.