Deen’s Daily: Frozen Frenzy; Maurice Gets An Extension: Avalanche Win Again

The NHL unleashed a full day of hockey on Tuesday, putting all 32 games in action for the second annual ‘Frozen Frenzy’ on ESPN. The games were staggering, starting every 15 minutes from 4 p.m. MT until 9 p.m. MT. Vegas and L.A. played the final game, which was completed well past 1 a.m. for east coast fans.

Among the highlights of the packed day, the Nashville Predators finally won their first game, defeating the Boston Bruins 4-0. The Detroit Red Wings also blanked the New York Islanders 1-0 in the lowest-scoring game while the Tampa Bay Lightning and New Jersey Devils combined for 13 goals — an 8-5 victory for the Lightning, led by former Av goalie Jonas Johansson.

Utah Hockey Club, who the Avalanche play for the first time on Thursday, were shutout 4-0 by the Ottawa Senators at home. The Winnipeg Jets remained undefeated, improving to 6-0-0 on the season after defeating the St. Louis Blues 3-2.

Colorado Hockey Now

What a swing it’s been for the Avalanche since Friday. After barely getting out of Ball Arena with a 4-3 OT victory over Anaheim — despite outshooting the Ducks 49-19 — Colorado won for the third straight game on Tuesday. This time, a 3-2 triumph over Philipp Grubauer and the Seattle Kraken on the road in their first of three matchups over the next two months.

Joel Kiviranta scored twice and Justus Annunen started again, putting in another solid performance between the pipes for head coach Jared Bednar’s club.

Around The NHL

Toronto: Toronto was one of two teams who entered the day on the second leg of a back-to-back. They were dominated 6-2 by the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena. And in the process, Max Pacioretty left the game with a lower-body injury. Just a brutal night all around a day after routing the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Florida: The Panthers lost again. They were defeated 5-1 by the Minnesota Wild. But earlier in the day, head coach and reigning Stanley Cup Champion Paul Maurice signed a multi-year extension to remain head coach of the Panthers. He had a great quote following the game, courtesy of TSN’s Chris Johnston:

“I’m interested in coaching the Florida Panthers for as long as they’ll have me because it’s great coming to the rink,” Maurice said following the loss. “We are all performers here. Everybody has a job to do. I didn’t like my job tonight, but I’m still going to love it tomorrow.”