Landeskog tallies lone goal as Avalanche blank Wild
DENVER - Gabriel Landeskog provided an emotional lift and then scored a big goal as the Colorado Avalanche beat the Minnesota Wild 1-0 on Saturday.
Calvin Pickard stopped 32 shots in his second career shutout for the goal-starved Avalanche, who stopped a two-game skid.
Colorado endured 164 minutes, 48 seconds of play without a goal before Landeskog cashed in on the power play near the midway point of the third period. It was just the Avalanche's third win in the last 11 games against Minnesota.
Devan Dubnyk had 31 saves for the Wild and mixed it up with Landeskog to help create a playoff atmosphere at Pepsi Center.
Dubnyk and Landeskog got into it early in the third, when the Avalanche power forward was parked in front of the Wild net. Dubnyk slashed him, Landeskog answered with one of his own and the two began to scuffle before Wild players pulled him off their goaltender.
Both got minor penalties for roughing while Dubnyk got an extra two minutes for slashing.
Colorado didn't score on that advantage but Christoph Bertschy went off for holding the stick a few minutes later. Colorado cashed in when Matt Duchene fed Landeskog as he charged the net, and his redirection got past Dubnyk at 10:23 of the third.
It was his third of the season.
It was Colorado's first goal since Jarome Iginla scored at 5:35 of the first period against Nashville on Tuesday.
Minnesota pulled Dubnyk with 1:05 left but couldn't tie it. Charlie Coyle had a goal wiped out with 49 seconds left when the referee said Eric Staal had pushed Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson into Pickard in the crease, preventing him from being able to play the puck.
Colorado had a great chance to take the lead when Blake Comeau drew two Minnesota penalties on a shorthanded breakaway early in the second period. The Avalanche enjoyed nearly two minutes of a 5-on-3 but managed just one shot on goal.
NOTES: Colorado C John Mitchell cleared waivers on Saturday. The move was made Friday morning. Mitchell, who was in the lineup on Saturday, had no points in four games coming into the game. He is in the last year of a three-year, $5.4 million deal. The Avalanche has the option to assign him to San Antonio of the AHL. ... Minnesota LW Zach Parise missed his third straight game because of a lower-body injury. ... Saturday's game was Minnesota's only one in a stretch of eight days. The Wild played Tuesday and will not play again until Thursday. ... Avalanche D Eric Gelinas and LW Cody McLeod were scratched.