SAN JOSE – This time the Colorado Avalanche found a way to come up with an answer to Brent Burns.
He may be seven inches shorter and 40 pounds lighter than the Sharks star, but Tyson Barrie delivered the type of knockout performance needed to turn the series on a dime.
The 27-year-old’s goal and two assists were key to a 4-3 Avalanche win Sunday at SAP Center to even the series with the Sharks 1-1 and snatch home ice advantage.
Following a script similar to that of their first-round series against Calgary, Barrie’s boys rebounded from a slow start in the series and the second game to steal momentum few saw coming.
“I think, after Game 1 in Calgary, we kind of took a step back and were like, ‘wow, we think we’re a better hockey team than these guys,’ and we proved that in the first round, and that gave us confidence,” said Barrie, whose first NHL playoff goal came in his 500th NHL game.
“Then, coming in here, that first game, I thought we played a real good first period and first half of the second period and controlled a lot of the play. It got away from us a little bit, but we’re just a team that feels like we can play with anybody and dictate the pace of the play. So it’s good for confidence going forward.”
Confidence in Colorado may have waned eight minutes in when Evander Kane opened the scoring in a period dominated by the hosts. Shortly after the goal, Avs coach Jared Bednar did what he’s done so often the last two years, by moving Mikko Rantanen to the top line with Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog.
Landeskog’s redirection of a Barrie point shot tied the game midway through the second period. Eight minutes later the big line was also on the ice when Barrie somehow one-timed a bouncing puck from the point past Martin Jones for a lead they’ve never relinquish.
“I was in front of the net and I saw it coming like a hot-potato toward him,” smiled Landeskog of Barrie’s big blast.
“To be honest with you, I was ready to start back-checking because if that bounces over his stick, it could be a dangerous chance the other way. But like he said in here between periods, he just hoped for the best and swung at it, and all of a sudden, it went bar-down.”
By night’s end the top line had two goals, five points, 10 shots and the belief they can slay another dragon.
“There are some things when you have a first period like that and don’t get much going, so maybe you want to switch to see if it brings the spark and we got an early goal from Landy in the second and probably that led the way and there’s no changing back,” said Rantanen of the line-changing spark Bednar so often goes back to.
“The chemistry between us is that we’ve played together over 150 games in the last two years so there’s not much talk you have to do. There’s a lot of good players in this team and it doesn’t matter if (Alex) Kerfoot is with them and I’m with Willy (Colin Wilson and Carl Soderberg). I’m good with either, but if the coach wants us together, we have to lead the way.”
MacKinnon was credited with the game-winner when Matt Calvert took a hellacious hit to dish the puck to him for an empty netter that put the west’s second wild-card squad up 4-2 in the dying minute. It was MacKinnon’s seventh shot of the night.
Brent Burns’ second goal of the night, with ten seconds left, made it 4-3, to no avail, as the big Sharks defenceman added three points to his four-point effort in Game 1.
Asked how they’d stop Burns, who has nine points in his last five games, MacKinnon shrugged.
“I don’t know – ask Bedsy – we’ll have to figure out something,” he smiled.
Yet, the game’s star was 5-foot-10, 190-pound Barrie, who was every bit as dominant in the Avs first round as the top line was.
“Massive goal for us – it put us up 2-1,” said MacKinnon of Barrie, 27, who has scored at least 12 goals five of the last six seasons.
“He’s a great player and he’s been one of our best players the last few months, which is awesome to see. Even dating back to the regular season to get us in (to the playoffs) I think he had seven goals in 11 games. First round he was awesome. Could have had a bunch, same as Game 1. He’s such a smart player.”
Game 3 goes Tuesday in Denver.
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