Colorado Avalanche: Top 6 Ugly Goals of 2014-15

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#6: John Mitchell vs the New Jersey Devils

Center John Mitchell scored on New Jersey Devils goalie Cory Schneider. It’s always nice when a player scores a game-tying goal — after all, your team had been down until then.

This particular tally is a real meat-and-potatoes kind of play for Mitchell. The Avalanche have the puck in the Devils’ zone. Star wingers Jarome Iginla and Gabriel Landeskog are whirling around and puck handling behind the net. Mitchell drives to the front.

Mitchell receives a pass from Iginla. He settles it, but it ends up kind of bouncing against Schneider. Mitchell somehow gets enough wood on the puck to scoop it up, and it squeaks its way past Schneider.

John Mitchell’s goal:

The Avalanche went on to win this one-goal game 3-2.

#5: Matt Duchene vs the St. Louis Blues

Center Matt Duchene almost didn’t make this list. He is the king of scoring pretty goals — and not shooting unless he thinks he has a pretty chance.

However, this January game marked the final match between the Colorado Avalanche and the St. Louis Blues. I’d say Avalanche fans were finally used to see center Paul Stastny in St. Louis blue.

Duchene must have forgotten that his friend is no longer his teammate because he whirls around and whips the puck right to Stastny. And Stastny must have forgotten that he’s no longer an Avalanche. He seems to angle his stick just right for the puck to make it past Blues goalie Brian Elliott:

Funnily enough, if Stastny were still with the Avalanche, this goal couldn’t have made the ugly goals list. However, own-goals by the other teams are always some of the best ugly goals.

#4: Zach Redmond vs the Carolina Hurricanes

In the dismal days of November goals were so hard to come by. Already Avalanche fans and sports writers were remarking that the Colorado players were trying to get too fancy. We all just wanted the team to shoot the puck more.

On November 22, the team hosted the Carolina Hurricanes in what would ultimately be a one-goal game — and a win for the Avalanche. The goal below is not the game-winner — rather, it’s the goal that cut the Carolina Hurricanes’ 2-0 lead in half.

It wasn’t one of those sweet goals either. Colorado defenseman Zach Redmond made a bank shot off of a Carolina Hurricanes player that snuck past Carolina goalie Cam Ward. Watch how happy the Avs are — a goal, a goal, their kingdom for a goal.

#3: Nick Holden vs the Calgary Flames

Here’s another bank shot by Zach Redmond. Only this time defenseman Nick Holden fumbles the puck past Calgary goalie Kari Ramos.

The December 4 game against the Calgary Flames was another one-goal game that unfortunately this time went the Flames’ way in overtime. It was one of those games during which Colorado goalie Semyon Varlamov was showing the unreliability of his groin.

Nick Holden’s goal came in the second period and actually put the Avalanche up 2-1. It’s the quintessential ugly goal because there’s now way to tell how Holden even got it in the net — he’s flailing around outside the crease. However, he obviously got his stick on the puck to shove it past Ramos:

Redmond’s good, hard work and Holden’s taking the tough spot led to this ugly goal.

#2: Brad Stuart vs the Chicago Blackhawks

This is actually one of my favorite goals from last season. I like to think of it as the time defenseman Brad Stuart accidentally scored on Corey Crawford.

This is another example of a defenseman doing what he’s supposed to, in this case dump in the puck. Stuart went one better and actually aimed it for the net. To be clear, though, this is not a shot. Watch Stuart — all he’s doing is chipping in the puck before heading off for a line change:

However, the puck started bouncing, and Crawford couldn’t control it. The puck bounced right past him and into the net.

The incredulous look on Stuart’s face is my favorite part of this goal.

#1: Max Talbot vs the Minnesota Wild

Former Colorado Avalanche forward Max Talbot’s goal against Minnesota Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk is the most beautiful of ugly goals. It’s also the ugliest goal.

It’s beautiful because Talbot’s goal is the first the Colorado Avalanche scored against the Wild all season. And it came in the fourth game. It’s so awful to say it, but the Avs’ first goal against the Wild came in the fourth game of the season.

It’s also beautiful because, well, you know, it’s an Avalanche goal against the Wild.

It’s an ugly goal because it’s just ugly. It’s basically an own-goal because the puck gets stuck in Dubnyk’s pads as he slides back past the goal line. It’s also ugly because he gives Avalanche alternate captain Cody McLeod a huge shove at the conclusion of the play: