The common thought when the Ava gave up at first and second round pick for Semyon Varlamov was that Avalanche management knew something that the rest of us didn't.
After tonight, apparently what they knew was that Varly was part Jedi.
Varly used his force powers to keep pucks from going in, even when they go behind him, pushed 25 shots wide of the net and even used a Jedi-mind trick to convince the Refs that Justin Williams' stick was too high. Oh and he saved 31 of 32 shots (not everyone's perfect okay.)
He kept his tricks running all game until the Avs' Ryan O'Reilly stole the puck. Varly then sent him calmness through the force(don't ask me how, I'm not a Jedi) to make him snipe Jonathan Quick, who undoubtedly had to be the Sith to Varly's Jedi, over the left shoulder.
At the beginning of the night, this game was always going to be a goaltending matchup. Both teams are playing strong defense and both teams have received outstanding goaltending of late. It doesn't take a nuclear physicist to figure out it was going to be a low-scoring affair.
However, it wasn't a boring low-scoring affair. There were a combined 75 hits and 53 shots put toward the net. It was the kind of hockey to make anyone get an ice pack just because of pain by proxy.
Kings fans will complain about the goal called by the refs after it appeared Justin Williams hit the puck in with a high stick but the real story was missing 25 shots, a lot of them from close-in. Most of the great plays in this game were done by the Kings as the Avs forgot how to play hockey for the first two periods and moved their feet less than a bubble hockey player.
The score says 2-1 Avs in a shootout but it wasn't the prettiest win in the book. If not for a great play by O'Reilly and the Jedi antics of Varlamov the Avs would have lost and would not have jumped over Dallas and back into the provisional playoff picture.
Three Stars
1. Semyon Varlamov- Jedi Varly was at his best
2. Jonathan Quick- Darth Quick wasn't bad either
3. Ryan O'Reilly- Radar scored the goal to send it to OT
Facepalm of the Game
Yes Kings fans, I know you'll say the refs but this one goes to T.J. Galiardi failing to clear the puck, directly leading to Dustin Brown's goal.
Bang bang play of the Game
There are two:
T.J. Galiardi making a King disappear into his throne bench is one. He got a penalty for it but some two minutes are well worth it.
O'Reilly sniping Quick was the other. I'd pick a Varly save but, honestly, there were too many to pick just one.
Colorado Avalanche Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»