LaBarbera Helps Ducks To 3-2 Win Over Avs
DENVER (CBSLA.com/AP) — Defensemen Hampus Lindholm and Cam Fowler scored their first goals of the season 1:44 apart in the second period, and emergency starter Jason LaBarbera stopped 16 shots, lifting the Anaheim Ducks to a 3-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday night.
Corey Perry also scored for the Ducks, who went 3-1 on a four-game trip.
Dennis Everberg scored his first NHL goal, and Nathan MacKinnon added another for weary Colorado, which also lost at St. Louis in a shootout on Saturday.
LaBarbera made an unexpected start after he arrived earlier Sunday from Norfolk of the AHL. He was supposed to be the backup in place of Frederik Andersen, who was scratched due to leg tightness.
He got the start when John Gibson sustained a lower-body injury in warmups. Goaltending consultant Dwayne Roloson dressed, and was the backup in case something happened to LaBarbera.
LaBarbera was in net Friday and Saturday for Norfolk, making 36 saves and earning two wins. He carried it over to Sunday as he earned his first NHL victory since Oct. 7, 2013, when he was with Edmonton.
Anaheim's Francois Beauchemin drew a high-sticking penalty with 3:07 remaining, and Semyon Varlamov went to the bench for an extra skater, giving the Avs a 6-on-4 opportunity. But Colorado couldn't capitalize.
Varlamov was kept busy all night, making one sprawling save after another. He couldn't help the Avalanche procure a point, though, the first time in seven games the Avalanche have failed to get at least one.
Varlamov finished with 30 saves.
Anaheim dominated the second period, outshooting Colorado 12-2. Lindholm scored on a pass from Patrick Maroon, who was behind the net.
Moments later, Fowler gave the Ducks a 3-2 lead by driving in on Varlamov, faking one way and tapping the puck into the net with the goalie on the ice.
Colorado got on the board 2:18 in when Everberg banked a shot off the boards and back to himself in order to get around a defenseman. He then lined a shot that squeezed past LaBarbera's pads. The 22-year-old Everberg was recalled from Lake Erie of the AHL three days earlier.
Later in the first period, Perry tied it as his wrist shot bounced off Varlamov, smacked the charging right wing on the wrist and trickled over Varlamov's shoulder. The goal was upheld by video review.
Perry leads the league with 11 goals.
MacKinnon's wrist shot beat LaBarbera to the stick side late in the first to send the Avs into the dressing room with a 2-1 lead. The teenager has four goals in three games after starting the season in a slump.
(TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
