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Avalanche hang on to snap slump against Red Wings

Dec 16, 2008 - 7:16 AM DETROIT (Ticker) -- Making his first start this month, goaltender Andrew Raycroft proved he was up for the challenge against the defending Stanley Cup Champions.

Wojtek Wolski and Paul Stastny each scored early in the first period and Raycroft made 34 saves as the Colorado Avalanche held on for a 3-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Monday.

Defenseman Jordan Leopold scored a penalty-shot goal and added an assist for the Avalanche, who had lost their last eight meetings with the Red Wings, including last season's playoffs. Colorado was swept by Detroit in the Western Conference semifinals.

"I don't want to say we gave the two points to Chicago (on Friday), but we didn't give them much of a fight," Avalanche coach Tony Granato said. "After a game like that, you always wonder how your team will respond, how your players will respond. The way we came out and played here, I was very happy with the response."

In his first start since November 29, Raycroft made a number of key stops late to preserve the win, handing Detroit its first home loss in its last six contests.

"I felt good, even though I had only played one game in a month," Raycroft said. "I felt very sharp. I've really been working hard in practice and (Avalanche goaltending coach Jeff Hackett) has really stayed on me, making sure I'm doing the right things. It's nice when all of that work pays off."

Colorado jumped out in front 67 seconds into the contest when Wolski broke in alone and beat Detroit goaltender Chris Osgood with a backhander.

The Avalanche doubled their advantage at the 4:34 mark of the first when Stastny scored on the power play. Stastny received a cross-ice pass from Milan Hejduk and scored high to the blocker side of Osgood from the right circle.

"Right away we had a turnover and it ended up in our net, then they scored on a power play," Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. "I didn't think we played terrible tonight. We did a lot of good things, but if you spot any team two goals it's going to be tough for you."

Raycroft kept it a two-goal game less than 3 1/2 minutes into the second period when he robbed Henrik Zetterberg's slap shot from the left circle with a great glove save.

Detroit was able to halve the deficit at 9:10 of the second when Tomas Holmstrom knocked home a loose puck in front of the net, making it a 2-1 contest.

Colorado regained its two-goal lead 1:51 into the third when Leopold scored on a penalty shot. After Detroit defenseman Brett Lepda covered the puck in the crease to draw the infraction, Leopold skated in and made a move to the backhand, flipping it high over Osgood's outstretched glove.

"(Leopold) is great on breakaways," Granato said. "We've learned that in practice. Whenever we have a breakaway competition, he always manages to find a way into the final."

Detroit cut the deficit to 3-2 with 12:53 left when Marian Hossa scored off the faceoff, beating Raycroft with a slap shot from the left circle. It was Hossa's team-leading 16th tally of the season.

The Red Wings were unable to tie the score, however, as Raycroft finished with 14 saves in the third period.

Detroit entered the game with the league's best power play, but did not capitalize on each of its five chances with the man advantage against Colorado.

"We're not going to score every time on the power play," Hossa said. "And whether you like it or not, they played well on the (penalty kill) and their goalie was hot. It helps when you score on the power play, but tonight we weren't lucky."

Osgood stopped 24 shots for Detroit, but still suffered his first loss in regulation since October 9th.