Semyon Varlamov: Semyon Varlamov blanks Kane and ‘Hawks

After trading early power play chances, the Avalanche would jump on the scoreboard first as a predictably handsome tic-tac-toe play between Colorado’s top line of Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon, and Matt Duchene would result in a Duchene goal, whose shot got a little help from a Blackhawks stick in beating goaltender Corey Crawford for a 1-0 lead. It was Duchene’s team-leading 16th goal of the season, and the first score Crawford gave up in 155 minutes of action.

The Hawks have killed off all three penalties, but also failed to convert on the man advantage within the first five minutes of the game. That inability to create long-lasting opportunities was ultimately the team’s downfall in the game, and a Landeskog empty-net goal sealed the victory for Colorado. Colorado should pick up its mail on the road, as it owns a 10-9-0 mark away from the Pepsi Center as opposed to its home mark of 4-7-1.

Centers Patrick Marleau, Joe Pavelski and Dainius Zubrus scored for San Jose while right winger Dale Weise scored for Montreal (20-9-3).

Chicago trails 2-0 after the second period.

Defenseman Kris Russell scored in overtime to give the Calgary Flames their sixth straight win, 2-1 over the Nashville Predators.

I kind of cheated and went with the icing on the cake in this one because it was a stressful third period for Colorado fans and this goal was a huge weight lifted off the shoulders of Avs viewers. Varlamov made a season-high 42 saves as the Avalanche posted their fifth win in seven outings with a 3-1 victory over St. Louis on Sunday. He improved to 11-3 all-time against Chicago, the defending Stanley Cup champion, which has won it three times in the past six years.