DALLAS -- Semyon Varlamov has mastered beating the Dallas Stars. Ray Allen Jersey . Varlamov made 41 saves in the Colorado Avalanches 4-3 victory Monday night and beat the Stars for the fourth straight time. Alex Tanguay scored the winning goal early in the third period, and Varlamov made it stand up despite the best efforts of rejuvenated Stars scoring leader Tyler Seguin. Colorado led twice, but both times Seguin scored to tie the game. Seguin has 23 goals this season, but had not scored in 13 games. He also had an assist on Jamie Benns first-period goal. Varlamov stopped Seguin twice during a third-period power play with the score tied. "On Jamies cross-crease pass, (Seguin) had about 18 inches of open net," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. "He just pushed the puck back into the goalies pads." Varlamov knew he was challenged on that play. "(Seguin) is a good player. Hes got a tough shot. Hes pretty skilled. Hes always dangerous, especially when were penalty killing." The goalie also stopped Seguins drive from the left faceoff circle as the Avalanche killed the penalty. Just 19 seconds later, at 4:13 of the third, Tanguays shot from low in the left circle hit a skate, possibly Dallas defenceman Sergei Gonchars, and skidded past Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen for the 4-3 lead. "It wasnt pretty," Tanguay said, "but those things happen. I had (teammate Paul Stastny) at the corner of the net. If it doesnt hit something else, it probably goes in with him." Colorados Nathan MacKinnon scored on the games first shot. Jamie McGinn also scored in the first period, and Stastny connected on a power play in the second. "The first five minutes," Ruff said. "After that, we dominated. Their goalie stole the show. "We had five or six point-blank chances in the second to blow the game apart. He was there and he made some great saves." Maxime Talbot and Gabriel Landeskog had two assists apiece for the Avalanche. Alex Goligoski assisted twice for Dallas. The Avalanche won two of three games on a road trip that ended Monday. The Stars had won their previous three games by a 14-1 combined margin. MacKinnon scored after a shot was knocked down in front. The puck went to him just to the left of the goal, and he tapped in a shot before Lehtonen could slide across to that side. Lehtonen had allowed only one goal in 67 shots during the three previous games. Colorado scored again at 15:57 of the first period. After blocking a shot by Dallas Alex Chiasson in their end, the Avalanche attacked. Lehtonen stopped Matt Duchenes shot, but McGinn took the rebound in front and flipped a backhand into the top of the net. The Stars cut their deficit to 2-1 just 1 1/2 minutes later. Colorado tried to clear from behind the net, but Seguin retrieved the puck on the left wing boards and dropped it to Benn in the faceoff circle. His wrist shot beat Varlamov upstairs for Benns 20th goal. Seguin tied the game 2-2 with a 4-on-3 power play at 1:02 of the second period. Benn passed from the right circle across to Seguin, who beat Varlamov on the short side. "It felt good," Seguin said, "like I lost the monkey off my back for sure, getting that goal." The goal extended Dallas streak to eight games with a power-play goal (10 total). The Avalanche regained the lead on Stastnys power-play goal at 17:57. The Stars had successfully killed 16 consecutive penalties before that. Dallas tied 16 seconds later, when Seguin sent a drive from the right circle under Varlamovs right arm. "That was my goal," Varlamov said. "I could have moved a little bit, so I was not happy about it. I tried to regroup for myself and get ready for the third period. The third period was huge for us." He faced a total of 13 shots from the Stars two leading scorers, eight by Benn and five by Varlamov. "Hes having a great year," Benn said, "and had another good game tonight." NOTES: A big difference between third-place Colorado and fifth-place Dallas is that the Avalanche are 13-5-2 within the Central Division, and the Stars are 6-9-5. . Tanguay has points in six of his last seven games against the Stars. . MacKinnon has four goals and two assists in his last five games. He and Dallas Valeri Nichushkin are 1-2 in scoring among rookies. . Goligoski has seven assists in the last four games, 10 in the last eight. . Benn has three goals and five assists in the last five games. . Seguin has four goals and four assists against Colorado this season. . The season series concluded with the Avalanche 4-1 and Dallas 1-3-1. Milwaukee Bucks Shirts . The R&A announced Monday that golfs oldest championship will return to Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland for the first time since Max Faulkner won in 1951. Lucius Allen Jersey . The 49ers, 6-2 and riding a five-game winning streak following the bye week, also waived cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha and activated cornerback Eric Wright from the reserve/non-football injury list. Manningham made 42 receptions for 449 yards and one touchdown in 12 games and 10 starts last season before injuring his left knee in a loss at Seattle Dec. MARANA, Ariz. -- Ernie Els hardly ever catches a break at the Match Play Championship. When the first edition was held in 1999 at La Costa, he was trailing Paul Azinger going to the 18th hole when his tee shot caught the worst of lies in the rough. And it didnt get much better after that. He lost in the second round a year later to Bob Estes by missing a 4-foot putt on the last hole. He once blew a 3-up lead against Tom Lehman and missed a 4-foot putt on the 19th hole. And even the Big Easy could only laugh the year Phil Tataurangi buried a 25-foot putt on the bumpy greens of La Costa to force extra holes and beat him in 20. Just last year, Els lost on the last hole at Dove Mountain by missing from 5 feet to Freddie Jacobson. So perhaps this year is a small measure of justice. Counting the conceded putts, Els had a 75 on Wednesday and a 73 on Thursday. And somehow, the 44-year-old South African is still in the tournament. The latest win was a big one. Els was 1 down with two holes to play against U.S. Open champion Justin Rose and beat him in 20 holes. "I dont know if I can say I enjoy it," Els said. "But its a different experience every time. Its a battle. Sometimes youre up for it. I found myself at times not being quite up for it. ... Its a matter of who is going to gut it out. And thats, I guess, the nature of match play, is how much you want it. "But in this tournament, I havent done that well. Hopefully, I can go further now. Anthony Mason Jersey. " Rose made a bogey on the 17th hole to square their match. Then Els faced a tricky 6-foot par putt to extend the match on the 18th. "I just guessed right," Els said. "For once, I made it. Ive missed it many other times." On the first extra hole, No. 1, he stood on the crest of the hill and watched Rose hit his approach to 10 feet. Els hit his shot in nearly the exact location, and then poured it into the cup for birdie. Rose made his birdie putt, too. But it looked as though the ghosts of Match Play returned to play tricks with Els mind. With Rose in the bunker left of the green on the par-5 second hole, Els smashed a 5-iron right into the sun. He couldnt see where it was going, but thought it was good. It wasnt. The ball curled around the edge of the bunker and stayed on the slope of the brown collar. "An impossible shot," Els said. He thought about lofting a chip onto the green and let it ride a ridge behind the cup back toward the hole for a reasonable look at birdie. He caught it slightly thin. The ball went into the bank of the green and trickled down to 4 feet, a tremendous outcome. Rose left his shot in the bunker, and Els made the birdie putt to advance. "It was one of those once-in-a-lifetime shots, really," Els said. He was due for one of those. Next up for Els is another major champion, Jason Dufner. ' ' '
RSS Feed
RSS Feed