Avs Fall To Coyotes At Home

Dec 10, 2013; Denver, CO, USA; Phoenix Coyotes center

(14) and Colorado Avalanche center

(9) battle for control of the puck behind the net in the second period at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

The Colorado Avalanche would fall to 20-9-0 on the season as they lost to the Phoenix Coyotes Tuesday night at the Pepsi Center, 3-to-1. Antoine Vermette scored two goals in the win, while Thomas Greiss prevented the Avalanche from getting on the board after many chances in the first.

The Avalanche had a lot of scoring chances in the first period against the Phoenix Coyotes, as they kept goaltender Thomas Greiss busy. Nathan MacKinnon would make a beautiful pass in front of the net to the captain Gabriel Landeskog but Greiss would make a nice save. Later, P.A. Parenteau had a 2-on-1 chance as he sent it across to Maxime Talbot that was also stuffed. Colorado had a lot of chances off of the rebound but just couldn’t convert. There were no penalties in the first period as the score remained 0-0 at the end of one, as the Avalanche would out-shoot the Coyotes, 11-9.

Phoenix would start out with a penalty early in the second period, as Michael Stone would be called for interference on Patrick Bordeleau. Colorado had two good chances on net, as Tyson Barrie‘s slap-shot went off the pads of Greiss, and Erik Johnson‘s slap-shot rebounded to MacKinnon who couldn’t finish. Later on, Patrick Bordeleau would lay a big hit on Mike Ribeiro and he would stay down, as Kyle Chipchura would jaw with Cody McLeod.

Nick Holden would be called for interference, setting up the Coyotes on the power-play. Antoine Vermette would score roughly thirty-seconds into the power-play with his eighth goal of the season, set-up by a nice pass from Keith Yandle. Phoenix’s fourth-line would score minutes later as Jordan Szwarz would put the puck in the net off of a rebound, assisted by Jeff Halpern and Paul Bissonnette. Patrick Bordeleau would get the Avalanche on the board off of a bizarre goal deflecting off of the back of Thomas Greiss‘s leg pad, as the Coyotes led 2-to-1.

Phoenix answered right back as the Avalanche failed to get the puck out of their own zone. Antoine Vermette would score his second goal of the game, assisted by Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Mikkel Boedker, giving the Coyotes the 3-to-1 lead heading into the second intermission.Vermette’s last two-goal game would be in April against none other than the Colorado Avalanche.

Speaking of Antoine Vermette, he would be called for a penalty to begin the third after being called for hooking. The Avs failed to get the power-play going once again, as they mustered just one shot on net. Matt Duchene would be called for hooking later on, but would be killed by the Colorado PK unit. The Avalanche would put on some good shifts late but the story of the game was they couldn’t get the puck out of their zone. The Avalanche fell to the Coyotes 3-to-1 as time expired.

Goaltender Thomas Greiss would play lights-out for the Phoenix Coyotes. The Avalanche would’ve had at least three goals in the first period if he didn’t make those stops. He would finish the gave 29-of-30 on save attempts, 96.7% save percentage.

Three-Stars:

3: Keith Yandle (PHX): One assist.

2: Thomas Greiss (PHX): 29 saves, 96.7% save percentage.

1: Antoine Vermette (PHX): Two goals.

What’s Up Next:

The Colorado Avalanche will travel to Winnipeg to take on the Jets Thursday night at MTS Centre. Puck-drop is scheduled for 8:00 PM ET, 6:00 PM MT.