Prosvetov makes 28 saves and Rantanen has goal and assist as Avalanche beat Blues 4-1
DENVER (AP) — Ivan Prosvetov made 28 saves in his first start for Colorado, Mikko Rantanen had a goal and an assist, and the Avalanche beat the St. Louis Blues 3-1 on Wednesday night.
Ross Colton, Artturi Lehkonen and Bowen Byram also had goals, and Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon had two assists apiece as Colorado snapped a two-game losing streak.
“There’s a lot of pride in that room and you hate to lose, and then you lose a couple the way we did,” coach Jared Bednar said. “A lot of that was on us so we wanted to make corrections in our play and put our best foot forward.”
Prosvetov, who got his first win since April 8, was claimed off waivers from Arizona on Oct. 9 after Alexandar Georgiev’s backup Pavel Francouz was placed on injured reserve. He made his Avalanche debut Oct. 26 in Pittsburgh when he spelled Georgiev for the final eight minutes of a 4-0 loss.
“I was preparing before the game, I was ready to play,” Prosvetov said. “I was thinking it was going to come earlier than that but it is what it is and when the team needs me I’m ready to step in.”
Prosvetov made a save on an odd-man rush early in the game that helped him find a quick rhythm.
“It definitely pumps you up when you make it a big save, especially with the crowd that’s really loud here,” Prosvetov said. “I’m used to playing in smaller buildings so it’s definitely pumps your energy up and your confidence.”
Rob Thomas scored and Jordan Binnington stopped 24 shots for St. Louis, which came in having scored just 14 goals in seven games — the second-fewest in the NHL, ahead of only winless San Jose (nine in nine games).
“We’re just not clean enough yet and our shot quality is not great,” Blues coach Craig Berube said. “We had good opportunities and we’re just shooting it in the goalie stomach.”
Colorado was coming off two straight shutout losses on the road and went 129 minutes, 24 seconds, without scoring before Colton got his second of the season at 8:53 of the first period. Rantanen made it 2-0 with 6:41 left in the first when he scored on the power play, his sixth goal of the season.
The Blues challenged for missed game stoppage but the goal was upheld upon review and they were given a delay of game minor.
Thomas made it 2-1 with 2:11 left in the second period, his second goal of the season, but the Avalanche put it away in the third after killing off a St. Louis power play. Lehkonen scored on a rebound at 1:41 and Byram made it a three-goal game with his second of the season at 7:59.
“Obviously our power play is struggling a bit. I think we’re getting some pretty good chances we’re just not putting in,” Blues defensman Justin Faulk said. “We had a chance during the third to know the game up 2-2 and they took advantage after.”
The Avalanche got their 600th home win since relocating from Quebec in 1995. It was also the 900th home victory in franchise history.
UP NEXT
Blues: Host New Jersey on Friday night.
Avalanche: At Vegas on Saturday night.
___
AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL
