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Gabe Landeskog's decision not to fight pays off for Avalanche
By Adrian Dater
The Denver Post
Posted: 10/11/2013 12:01:00 AM MDT6 comments | Updated: 86 min. ago
BOSTON — Milan Lucic very badly wanted Avalanche captain Gabe Landeskog to drop the gloves and fight late in the second period Thursday night. Landeskog wouldn't do it.
While that might have earned scorn from Lucic and the rest of a Bruins team and crowd that might have thought him too chicken, Landeskog's restraint helped play a role in the Avs' 2-0 victory over Boston at TD Garden.
After some pushing and shoving around the Bruins' net late in the period, Lucic became upset at being grabbed from behind by Landeskog. He stood face-to-face with Landeskog for several seconds, pushing him a couple of times and jawing away. When Lucic gave Landeskog a shove to the face again, he was assessed a 10-minute misconduct,
Blog: All Things Avs
The Denver Post's Adrian Dater and Mike Chambers post analysis, notes and more on this blog focusing on the Colorado Avalanche.
which combined with a minor he had already received for roughing, took him off the ice for much of the key third period.
"He grabbed P.A. (Parenteau) from behind, and I had to do something, so I tried to get him off P.A. He wasn't too happy with that. He wanted to fight, and I think I did a pretty wise choice not fighting him," Landeskog said. "That's one of the best fighters in the league. It's one thing to stand up for your teammates, but you can't be dumb doing it. For me, just coming off a concussion last year, you've got to be smart. I respect him as a player and he's one of the toughest in the league and I don't want to fight him. A guy who's had only one fight in the league, I think guys around the league would agree that's a bad tradeoff."
Bruins coach Claude Julien wasn't impressed with Landeskog's indecision, calling it "soft."
Avs coach Patrick Roy said: "We don't have anything to prove, fighting with him. There's no need for Gabe to go in the box for 10 minutes. We need him on the ice. I thought it was smart for him."
Footnotes. Ryan Wilson, Matt Hunwick, Marc-Andre Cliche and Nick Holden were scratches for the Avs. ... The team will practice Friday at the Verizon Center in Washington.
By Adrian Dater
The Denver Post
Posted: 10/11/2013 12:01:00 AM MDT6 comments | Updated: 86 min. ago
BOSTON — Milan Lucic very badly wanted Avalanche captain Gabe Landeskog to drop the gloves and fight late in the second period Thursday night. Landeskog wouldn't do it.
While that might have earned scorn from Lucic and the rest of a Bruins team and crowd that might have thought him too chicken, Landeskog's restraint helped play a role in the Avs' 2-0 victory over Boston at TD Garden.
After some pushing and shoving around the Bruins' net late in the period, Lucic became upset at being grabbed from behind by Landeskog. He stood face-to-face with Landeskog for several seconds, pushing him a couple of times and jawing away. When Lucic gave Landeskog a shove to the face again, he was assessed a 10-minute misconduct,
Blog: All Things Avs
The Denver Post's Adrian Dater and Mike Chambers post analysis, notes and more on this blog focusing on the Colorado Avalanche.
which combined with a minor he had already received for roughing, took him off the ice for much of the key third period.
"He grabbed P.A. (Parenteau) from behind, and I had to do something, so I tried to get him off P.A. He wasn't too happy with that. He wanted to fight, and I think I did a pretty wise choice not fighting him," Landeskog said. "That's one of the best fighters in the league. It's one thing to stand up for your teammates, but you can't be dumb doing it. For me, just coming off a concussion last year, you've got to be smart. I respect him as a player and he's one of the toughest in the league and I don't want to fight him. A guy who's had only one fight in the league, I think guys around the league would agree that's a bad tradeoff."
Bruins coach Claude Julien wasn't impressed with Landeskog's indecision, calling it "soft."
Avs coach Patrick Roy said: "We don't have anything to prove, fighting with him. There's no need for Gabe to go in the box for 10 minutes. We need him on the ice. I thought it was smart for him."
Footnotes. Ryan Wilson, Matt Hunwick, Marc-Andre Cliche and Nick Holden were scratches for the Avs. ... The team will practice Friday at the Verizon Center in Washington.
Dave D 8:11 AM on Friday Oct 11 You know what else is 'soft'? Claude Julien's big fat belly. I think he picked a fight with some turkey legs.
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