Dallas Stars rally in third to beat Colorado Avalanche 3-1 -NHL Update
Dallas had not seen a win since they edged the Los Angeles Kings, 3-2, in overtime on November 23, 2011. The Stars finally snapped their two-game losing streak and took down the Colorado Avalanche after rallying in the third period to win, 3-1, Monday night,
at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado, United States.
Krys Barch and Colorado’s, Cody McLeod, exchanged fists in the opening minutes of the first period which raised tensions right after the match kicked off.
Eric Nystrom scored his eighth goal of the 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season with less than five minutes remaining in the opening period, which gave Dallas the edge they needed to work on as the match progressed.
Since Dallas’ goalie, Kari Lehtonen, was injured in their last matchup against the Phoenix Coyotes and is expected to miss at least three weeks of game play, the Stars are counting on their backup, Andrew Raycroft, who certainly did not fail to impress by
blocking 35 of 36 attempts on his net for a near shutout.
"It's nice. It's nice to get a win," said Raycroft. "It's just as important to have all the guys believe in me and know that I can get wins for them. It's always a lot more fun to win.” "I felt great and I have felt great. I felt great at practice the other
day and I feel like I'm doing the right things. Tonight, our guys played great, especially in the third. We didn't give up much at all."
After a scoreless second period, former Boston Bruins player, Michael Ryder came out strong and scored the extension goal with less than six minutes to go.
Kevin Porter potted Colorado’s first in the next two minutes to give them a chance at catching up for an overtime extension, but with 28 seconds to go, Ryder secured the match for Dallas with his empty-net goal.
"Tonight was a big win for us," Ryder said. "It was a battle right to the end and we found a way to win.”
Dallas has the next two games at home, starting off with the Ottawa Senators on Thursday while Colorado hosts the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday.
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