Gästebuch » DENVER (AP) — Josh Anderson

kept his toe on the blue line and then his fingers crossed.The goal he scored Joonas Donskoi Jersey , ruled good on the ice, was upheld after a replay review for offside. Just the sort of break Columbus needed.Anderson broke a tie with 9:31 remaining, Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 27 shots and the Blue Jackets snapped a five-game skid by beating the Colorado Avalanche 6-3 on Tuesday night.“I don’t know if it was offside or not,” Anderson said. “I guess we got lucky there at the end.”Anderson batted in a loose puck under the pads of Philipp Grubauer for the winner, only to have the Avalanche challenge for offside. As he watched the replay on the big screen, Anderson knew it was going to be close. He also knew he hesitated before entering the zone and dragged his toe. He felt that might be the difference.Officials confirmed Anderson tagged up before teammate Nick Foligno entered the offensive zone.A good goal — and costly for Colorado, which was assessed a delay-of-game penalty. That led to a clinching power-play goal from Alexander Wennberg.“It’s a tough one to overturn,” Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. “But for us to make it work our way, for us to get a break our way, it’s a really good sign.”The challenge was worth a chance, Avalanche coach Jared Bednar reasoned.“We’re taking what I consider a 60-40, 70-30 (percent) shot at offside and if we don’t get it we have to kill a penalty,” Bednar explained. “We didn’t do either.”Pierre-Luc Dubois scored twice for Columbus, including an empty-netter. Oliver Bjorkstrand and Cam Atkinson also had goals.The Blue Jackets arrived in town early to acclimate to the altitude. The strategy worked, as they looked just as fresh in the third period as they did in the first.“This one was real big for us,” Wennberg said. “I don’t know if it’s a must-win, but you had to find a way to get off this losing streak. It was important.”A trio of defensemen Justin Braun Jersey Kids , Nikita Zadorov, Samuel Girard and Erik Johnson, scored for Colorado, which dropped its fourth straight and fell to 3-12-2 since Dec. 21.“As a group we still made some bonehead mistakes that are just uncalled for, the forwards and the defensemen,” captain Gabriel Landeskog said. “We’re all under the same microscope there.”Grubauer made 31 saves in a start over Semyon Varlamov as the Avalanche search for consistency in net.Girard scored his first goal since Nov. 28 at 14:06 of the second period, and moments later it appeared Tyson Barrie just might increase the lead. But Bobrovsky made a save, with the deflection winding up on the stick of Artemi Panarin, who quickly launched it up the ice to a wide-open Atkinson. The Blue Jackets forward faked out Grubauer to tie it at 3 with 18.9 seconds left in the second.That’s the way things went early — one counter after another.Columbus scored 53 seconds into the game on a wraparound goal from Bjorkstrand. Johnson answered with a shot from the blue line before the Blue Jackets answered right back courtesy of Dubois’ 20th goal of the season.With 1:23 remaining in the first, Zadorov knotted it again with a shot from the blue line.Before the game, Colorado general manager Joe Sakic said he hasn’t lost any confidence in his squad despite the recent slide.“We believe in this group,” Sakic said. “I know the group believes in themselves.”NOTES: Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky and D Ryan Murray were out with lower-body injuries. Columbus D Dean Kukan and forward Boone Jenner each had two assists. … Sakic adamantly maintained he won’t part with either of his two first-round draft picks in any sort of trade-deadline deal. “If there’s a player that can help us, that isn’t going to include one of those (picks) or our top prospects, then we’ll look at that,” Sakic said. … Sakic will address a potential long-term deal with forward Mikko Rantanen over the summer. … Colorado went 1-4 on the homestand.UP NEXTBlue Jackets: At the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday.Avalanche: Start a three-game trip Thursday in Washington. VANCOUVER, British Columbia — The Vegas Golden Knights appear to have recovered from their Stanley Cup finals hangover — in a big way.Following a slow start, Vegas (13-12-1 Youth Kevin Labanc Jersey , 27 points) has posted four straight wins heading into Thursday’s game in Vancouver against the Canucks (11-13-3, 25 points). The Golden Knights’ win streak has contrasted with the fact they lost four of their first five games.“We had some ups and downs through the season, but since then it just seems like we’ve been playing more our style, a fast-paced, in-your-face type of game,” goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury told NHL.com. “And, it’s been paying off for us.”Article continues below ...As a result, Golden Knights might defy many pundits’ view that they would falter in their second National Hockey League season after reaching the 2017-18 finals as an expansion team. Vegas is now battling for a playoff spot despite the absence of injured key offseason free agent signing Paul Stastny, who is sidelined with an undisclosed lower-body injury.The rebound has coincided with Fleury’s return from injury. The goaltender, who celebrated his 34th birthday Wednesday, was named the NHL’s latest second star of the week after posting consecutive shutouts against Calgary and San Jose. He also backstopped the Golden Knights to an 8-3 win Tuesday in Chicago, where he kept his shutout streak ended at 150:54 as the Vegas goal total established a new single-game club record.“My teammates have been helping a lot,” Fleury said. “The forwards are coming back and cutting those cross-ice passes. The defense lets me see the puck and they take the rebounds away. Just little things have been making a difference defensively.”The Golden Knights have also capitalized on the improved play of winger Max Pacioretty, who appears to be adjusting to life in Las Vegas following his trade from the Montreal Canadiens in September. Pacioretty has posted six goals and three assists in the past nine games. He is thriving on a line with Alex Tuch, who has 14 points in his past 11 contests after missing eight with an undisclosed injury early in the season.“I love playing with Tuch and (Eakin). They make life easy on me,” Pacioretty said. “They both can skate really well. Tuch’s a bigger guy who can protect pucks and create time and space for us. Our line’s been going really well but we want to build off that and get even better.”The Canucks have lost nine of their past 10 games. They are hoping that young snipers Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser can build more chemistry after shining together at times in a 2-1 home loss to Los Angeles on Tuesday. Boeser played his first game after missing 11 contests with a groin injury.The 21-year-old Burnsville, Minn. Martin Jones Jersey , native is optimistic that he can resume the offensive flair he displayed before his injury and last season, when he led the team in scoring as a rookie with 60 points.“Before (the injury), I wasn’t moving as well laterally and it’s exciting for me,” Boeser told reporters. “I haven’t felt this good, hips down, for quite a while and I’m moving better. It’s only up from here — I’m not looking at the negatives.”Canucks coach Travis Green, understandably, was “a little rusty” after his long layoff. But Boeser still helped Vancouver display considerable confidence and control on the power play as he and Pettersson collaborated on creating offense.Vancouver’s power play actually performed well during Boeser’s absence, but center Bo Horvat envisions that it can do even better — on a consistent basis — with him back.“Obviously, (Pettersson) has established himself on the half wall pretty well, and guys respect his one-timer,” Horvat told reporters. “To have Brock on the other side and Eagle (Alex Edler) feeding both of them, (opponents) are going to have to pick and choose which guy they’re going to cover now. It’s going to be huge for our group.”