Parise’s hat trick capped a third period rally as Minnesota erased a three goal deficit enroute to a 5-4 victory.
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The first period saw the Colorado Avalanche being the aggressors by scoring 3 goals to take a 3-0 lead and stayed that way heading into the end of the first period.
Once the Wild got the pressure going in the third there was no stopping them.
“We just weren’t thinking early.” defenseman Ryan Suter said. Seven seconds later Jarome Iginla would score his 38 career goal against Minnesota, giving Colorado a 1-0 lead. The Wild took advantage of the power play as Parise fired a slapshot past Varlamov, giving him the hat trick and, most importantly, the Wild their first lead of the game.
Starters from the Minnesota Wild and the Colorado Avalanche line up… Minnesota Wild dominated the third period with a goal at 5:07 from left wing Zach Parise, assisted by Jason Pominville and Matt Dumba.
Colorado Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson (6) celebrates his goal against the Minnesota Wild with teammate Francois Beauchemin (32) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, October 8, 2015, in Denver.
“You never expect that in a road game”. “Or even four in a period; we are capable of doing it”. John Mitchell added another in the second as the Avalanche built what appeared to be a comfortable lead before the Wild stormed back. Mikael Granlund fed a pass to the slot where Parise was open and ripped a shot over Semyon Varlamov’s glove. LW Thomas Vanek, who tied Thursday’s game, is a goal from his 300th.
“We were really, really good for 45 minutes”, Avalanche coach Patrick Roy said.
Parise almost had a goal in the first period, when he outraced everyone to a loose puck at center ice and skated in alone on Varlamov. After defenseman Jonas Brodin went off for holding at 13:33 of the first period, Iginla’s one-timer from the left circle beat Dubnyk just inside the post to make it 1-0.
Colorado made it two straight on the power play later in the period when Johnson’s shot from the point beat a screened Dubnyk over the left shoulder at 17:24. The players had pretty good game as they strolled the red carpet for the introduction to the team’s 20th anniversary season. They were 29th on the power play a year ago.
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The Avalanche went from a basement dweller, to a playoff contender, and back again in the span of three seasons and are hoping to contonue the trend and get back into the postseason this year. This from an Avalanche team that struggled to score goals in the preseason.
