DENVER (AP) — The new guy played pretty well, especially on very little sleep.
Welcome to town, Shawn Matthias. The games aren’t always this wild.
Nathan MacKinnon and Matt Duchene scored in the shootout, Matthias had a goal in his Colorado debut and the Avalanche beat the San Jose Sharks 4-3 on Wednesday night.
Acquired in a trade with Toronto on Sunday, Matthias didn’t get into town until around 1 a.m. Wednesday. A quick practice with his new teammates and he was up to speed.
That’s pretty much all it took. He scored on his first shot.
“Our line was buzzing,” Matthias said. “It was my first game so there were a couple mistakes out there, but it felt good overall to be out there, playing hard, playing for games that matter. It was a great team win.”
Calvin Pickard came up big in the shootout by stopping two shots. He made 30 saves filling in for starter Semyon Varlamov, who’s been fighting with the flu.
Gabriel Landeskog and Jarome Iginla had goals in regulation for Colorado. It was Iginla’s 607th career NHL goal.
“Tonight was a strong game from start to finish,” Landeskog said.
Matthias wasn’t the only one…