But he struggled mightily in puck battles, forcing his rookie partner, Nolan Allan, to do most of the work in terms of winning back possession. The Avalanche nearly tied the game early in the third period after
Miles Wood got the best of Brodie in a battle, and they nearly tied it again with five minutes left when Brodie kept failing to get a handle on the puck.
«Moving the puck quickly out of your 'D' zone is the way the game is played now,» Richardson said. «When you don't or it hops over your stick, everybody seems to get in a little bit of trouble. It happened a couple times to 'Brods.'