Eagles Get Redemption In Texas

The Colorado Eagles came into Texas for the second night in a row looking for redemption. And redemption is what they got. At first, the Texas Stars looked like they were going to control the game, but the Eagles never gave up. Colorado came out guns blazing and did not stop. My game summary is below!

First Period 

The Eagles started the game a lot better tonight than last night as Keaton Middleton got the energy going with a fight only a minute and a half into the game. He ended up racking up seventeen minutes in penalty minutes, but it lit a fire under Colorado. No less than three minutes later, Jean-Luc Foudy corralled a loose puck from a rebound and pushed it out to Charles Hudon in the right faceoff circle. Hudon immediately sent it across the slot to Alex Galchenyuk and he slammed it home past goaltender Matt Murray. 

Penalties started to kill the Eagles, with three more infractions in the period after the Middleton fight. Mitchell Vande Sompel, who is just coming back from injury, received a cross-checking penalty and it cost the team. After getting set up in the zone, Avalanche draft pick Will Butcher sent a pass to the right side for a one timer from Matej Blumel and a goal. 

Second Period

It was a rough period as the Eagles were outshot 19-6 through the frame. If Texas saw a chance to shoot the puck, they definitely shot it. Colorado only had to kill off two penalties in the period, compared to five in the first, but the Stars kept coming at them. It didn’t take much for the Eagles to get ahead in the game when Alex Petrovic of the Stars got an interference penalty to give Colorado their best chance of the period. They would not need long as the first face-off won by Galchenyuck would get back to Hudon. At the top of the slot, Hudon one timed it and Murray had no chance.

Third Period

Colorado completely turned the game around on Texas in the third. The Eagles took advantage of the Stars’ mistakes and scored two out of three goals while on the power play. With about 14:46 left in the third, Hudon gathered a loose puck in the corner and threw a cross slot pass all the way to the other side of the ice. Galchenyuk caught it perfectly and whipped it into the net with no contest. The fourth goal came again on the power play as the Eagles got set up and started passing around the zone. Galchenyuk passed across to Hudon and then tapped it to Ryan Merkley, who slammed a shot towards the net. Cedric Paré was providing a screen up front and managed to get a tip on the puck to redirect it in for a goal. The fifth, and final, goal came when Hudon was in a board battle at center ice. He kicked the puck free to a Texas player and Foudy swung by as he stole the puck to put the nail in the coffin. 

Conclusion

Penalties became an issue for both teams tonight with a total of five power play goals being scored. Four of them were by the Eagles alone. Colorado was not shy to take advantage of the Stars’ mistakes and let them pay for it. Despite being out shot in the game 38-22, the Eagles held their own through eight, yes eight, penalty kills. The special teams unit did their homework and it showed tonight.

Player Of The Game

Jonas Johansson— He allowed only one goal tonight while being bombarded with shot after shot. His .973 save percentage was well above his average of .920 for the season. Tonight, Johansson looked like he was in his element. He was making saves that I didn’t think I would have dreamed of him making. 

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