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Scott Takes: Avalanche rediscover character in Game 3

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Write, re-write, delete. Write, re-write and write again. That was the arc of this column you have your eyes on now. In the end, though, the Avalanche pulled out the win after a dramatic, back-and-forth third period of hockey. 

Near the end of the game, an NBC analyst called Game 3 between Colorado and Dallas the potential to be “an instant classic,” something fans will remember for years to come. That was a fun hockey game, no? 

Penalties once more led to a third-period meltdown and collapse of character as the Avalanche watched their comfortable 3-1 third-period lead quickly evaporate into a 3-3 tie after a Blake Comeau slapshot (of all people) sent the Avalanche reeling. Then, not 90 seconds later, Jamie Benn, who has so far made no fans in Colorado, scored the go-ahead goal with nine minutes to go in the game. 

This is once more where I began re-writing a story I had already halfway finished. “Avalanche collapse again, season on the line, no heart — or fight — left in this team” are a few of the phrases I began to type away…only to delete just minutes later. 

The turning point was a timeout. That’s pretty standard procedure for a coach to call a timeout when his team is reeling like that and amid collapse. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. This timeout, as it would turn out, was a game-changer, quite literally.

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