Compher scores overtime winner as Avalanche top Oilers 4-3

Associated Press

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) -- A late comeback bid by the Oilers didn't deflate the Colorado Avalanche.

J.T Compher scored 2:28 into overtime as the Avalanche snapped a three-game losing skid with a 4-3 victory over the Oilers, who had tied the game with just 27 seconds left in the third to send it to extra time.

"I thought we played well most of the game, only to unfortunately lose the lead late in the third," said Compher, who scored his 10th goal of the season. "I thought we played well enough to finish it off, and for us to get that extra point in overtime at the end is huge for us with the playoff race we are in.

"A huge part of our team is character. You are going to let in goals late like that every now and then, but for us to bounce back and get the two points was huge going forward."

Nikita Zadorov, Blake Comeau and Samuel Girard also scored for the Avalanche, who had a 10-game winning streak before going on their recent skid.

"It is nice to get a win after losing three in a row," Zadorov said. "We have gotten three of the four points on this road trip so far, so it has been a good trip for us."

Connor McDavid had a pair of goals, and Drake Caggiula scored once for the Oilers, who have lost two of their last three.

Edmonton had tied it with just 27 seconds remaining in regulation and the goalie pulled as McDavid rifled in a puck after it caromed off the boards.

"Both teams really needed that extra point," Oilers forward Milan Lucic said. "For most of that overtime, we had possession - we just weren't able to get the shot off to get the goal. They were able to get the bounce and get the point. It's a big one to give up and a big point for them with both teams being where they are in the standings."

There was no scoring and few good chances in the first period, with Colorado getting 10 shots on Oilers backup Al Montoya and Edmonton putting eight shots on the Avalanche's Jonathan Bernier.

Colorado broke the deadlock three minutes into the second period when Zadorov picked off a poor Edmonton clearing attempt and proceeded to beat Montoya up high for his fourth goal of the season.

The Avalanche went up 2-0 five minutes later on a power-play blast by Girard, his first goal in 36 games with Colorado since coming over in a trade with Nashville earlier this season.

McDavid knocked in his own rebound out of the air and into the net for his 16th of the season just over a minute later.

Caggiula pushed a puck across the goal line while Bernier attempted to smother it with his glove with less than a minute to go in the second period, but a review nullified the goal.

Shortly afterward, the Avalanche got a short-handed goal on a backhand shot by Comeau.

Edmonton pulled back within one seven minutes into the third as Caggiula tipped a shot out of midair for his seventh.

NOTES: It was the first of three meetings this season between the teams. ... Due to some quirks in the schedule, the Oilers had only played three games in the previous 18 days, but play 33 games in the next 66 days.

UP NEXT:

Avalanche: at Winnipeg on Saturday.

Oilers: host Tampa Bay on Monday.

Malkin, Bergeron and Bernier Named NHL ‘Three Stars’ for January

NEW YORK – Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin, Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron and Colorado Avalanche goaltender Jonathan Bernier have been named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the month of January.

FIRST STAR – EVGENI MALKIN, C, PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

Malkin led the NHL with 12 goals and ranked second with 19 points in 12 games (12-7—19) to lift the Penguins (28-21-3, 59 points) to a 9-3-0 January and second place in the Metropolitan Division. He collected at least one point in eight of his 12 contests, highlighted by four three-point performances. Those included his 12th career hat trick Jan. 30 vs. SJS (3-0—3) and 22nd career four-point outing Jan. 13 vs. DET (2-2—4). Malkin also scored three game-winning goals, headlined by his 12th career overtime winner Jan. 7 vs. BOS. The 31-year-old Magnitogorsk, Russia, native shares fifth place in the NHL with 26 goals and sits 11th overall with 55 points through 48 contests this season. That includes a League-best 19 goals and 34 points in 26 outings since the start of December.

SECOND STAR – PATRICE BERGERON, C, BOSTON BRUINS

Bergeron ranked second in the NHL with nine goals and fourth with 17 points in 11 games (9-8—17) to guide the Bruins (29-11-8, 66 points) to an 8-1-2 January and within five points of first place in the overall League standings. He found the scoresheet in nine of his 11 appearances, headlined by a career-high four goals and five points (tied) Jan. 6 vs. CAR. In doing so, Bergeron became the first Boston player to score four goals in one game since Oct. 28, 1999 (Dave Andreychuk). The 32-year-old Ancienne-Lorette, Que., native and four-time Frank J. Selke Trophy winner sits third on the Bruins with 20-22—42 in 43 outings this season. He now has reached the 20-goal milestone in nine of his 14 NHL campaigns, including five straight.

THIRD STAR – JONATHAN BERNIER, G, COLORADO AVALANCHE

Bernier posted a League-high eight wins, compiling a 2.10 goals-against average, .939 save percentage and one shutout in 11 games to propel the Avalanche (27-18-4, 58 points) to an 8-2-1 January. He yielded two or fewer goals in seven of his 11 appearances, including his 16th career shutout Jan. 4 vs. CBJ (34 SV). Bernier also made a season-high 45 saves Jan. 18 vs. SJS (5-3 W), three shy of his career best set Dec. 5, 2013 (w/ TOR). The 29-year-old Laval, Que., native – who won a career-high nine straight games from Dec. 31 – Jan. 22 (1.53 GAA, .955 SV%, 1 SO) – owns a 14‑9‑2 record with a 2.67 goals-against average, .917 save percentage and two shutouts in 25 outings this season.

Baertschi lifts Canucks over Avalanche 4-3 in OT

Associated Press

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- Sven Baertschi scored 1:07 into overtime and the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 on Tuesday night.

The Swiss forward took a feed in the extra period and ripped his 11th of the season high past Jonathan Bernier's glove.

Bo Horvat, Michael Del Zotto and Daniel Sedin also scored for Vancouver. Jacob Markstrom stopped 27 shots, and Christopher Tanev had three assists.

Gabriel Landeskog scored twice and J.T. Compher had the other goal for Colorado, which got 22 saves from Bernier.

Mikko Rantanen added two assists for the Avalanche, who lost leading scorer Nathan MacKinnon to an upper-body injury in the second period.

Colorado has dropped three in row after winning 10 straight games.

Trailing 3-2 after allowing three straight goals in the second period, the Canucks tied it two minutes into the third when Sedin scored his 12th of the season on a 5-on-3 power play as he fell to the ice.

The Avalanche nearly went back ahead on a man advantage of their own, but Rantanen hit the post behind Markstrom before Sedin also clanged one off the iron behind Bernier a couple of minutes later.

Markstrom made a big stop on Colin Wilson with just more than a minute to go in regulation.

Down 2-0 after the first period, Colorado got on the board at 4:20 of the second when Erik Johnson's shot deflected off Tanev's stick in front and changed direction on its way toward Markstrom. The goalie appeared to try to head butt the puck to safety, but Compher was there to tap home his ninth.

Colorado tied it 2:02 later when Tyson Barrie's shot from the slot that was stopped by Markstrom bounced off Landeskog and in for his 18th.

Vancouver failed to connect on consecutive power plays despite a number of chances, and the Avalanche made the Canucks pay when Landeskog scored his second of the night on a Colorado man advantage at 15:05 with a shot that got stuck behind the middle post in Markstrom's net.

MacKinnon, second in NHL scoring behind Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov with 61 points, was hurt shortly thereafter on a hit from Canucks defenseman Alexander Edler. The 22-year-old appeared to be favoring his left shoulder on the bench before heading to the locker room.

The Canucks opened the scoring at 6:36 of the first after the Avalanche turned the puck over at the offensive blue line.

Thomas Vanek poked the puck ahead to Horvat, who raced past Samuel Girard before beating Bernier low to the blocker side for his 11th - and first in four outings since returning from a broken foot that sidelined Vancouver's top center for 18 games.

Colorado had a chance to get even a couple of minutes later, but Markstrom was there to stop Dominic Toninato on a 2-on-1 rush.

Del Zotto stretched the Canucks' lead to 2-0 at 11:45 when his shot from the point through traffic beat Bernier over his blocker for the defenseman's third of the season.

NOTES: Barrie returned to the lineup after missing 13 games with a broken hand.

UP NEXT

Avalanche: Visit the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night.

Canucks: Continue a five-game homestand Thursday against Chicago.

Stastny, Schenn score to lift Blues over Avalanche 3-1

By JOE HARRIS
Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) – Carter Hutton is making it hard for Blues coach Mike Yeo to take him off the ice.

Hutton made 36 saves, Brayden Schenn scored in his fourth straight game and St. Louis beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-1 on Thursday night.

Alexander Steen scored for the fourth time in his last five games, Paul Stastny also scored and Alex Pietrangelo had a pair of assists for the Blues, who have won four of five.

Hutton has stopped 61 of his last 62 shots and helped the Blues earn points in eight of his last nine starts, going 7-1-1 with a 1.81 GAA, a .938 save percentage and one shutout in that span.

"You've got to give a lot of credit to our team and defensemen," Hutton said. "We've got a big defensive group who doesn't give up a lot of second chances and I'm able to see a lot of shots and when I do give up a rebounds, guys are there fighting for pucks."

Alexander Kerfoot scored for the Avalanche, who lost their second straight after winning 10 in a row. Jonathan Bernier made 31 saves. Colorado dropped consecutive games for the first time since Dec. 5-7.

Hutton came up big as the Avalanche controlled the third period. Hutton made tough saves on Gabriel Landeskog and Nikita Zadorov while Colorado sent 14 shots to the net.

"I know he didn't let in any the other night and let in one tonight but to me this one was better," Yeo said.

The Blues have won eight of their last nine and have points in 11 straight games against the Avalanche.

Stastny put in a rebound on Alex Pietrangelo's slap shot to give the Blues a 1-0 lead with 4:07 left in the first period. The power-play goal was Stastny's third against his former team.

"I think we're just working harder to get the puck whether it's rebounds or off the faceoff or off the break out," Stastny said of the power play. "And from there it's all second chances."

Bernier kept the Avalanche close as the Blues held a 17-8 shots advantage in the first. Bernier stopped Patrik Berglund on a short-handed chance at 1:41 and got help from his post on Tage Thompson's drive at 7:10.

Schenn's power-play goal gave the Blues a 2-0 lead with 8:32 left in the second.

Kerfoot got the Avalanche on the board by putting in a rebound on Anton Lindholm's shot with 2:51 left in the second. Lindholm's assist was his first NHL point.

"I think at times we could have done a better job of getting traffic to the front of the net and make it more difficult on (Hutton) but he played well," Kerfoot said. "I mean their whole team played a good game at home here."

The goal ended Hutton's shutout streak at 97:09. Before that, Hutton made tough saves on Mikko Rantanen, Blake Comeau and Gabriel Borque as the Avalanche outshot the Blues 15-9 in the second.

"They come in waves, they get their chances off the rush," Hutton said. "In zone they're good. They make a lot of pop plays, hit guys for a lot of one-timers. It was a great game."

Steen's goal with 1:20 left in the third gave the Blues a 3-1 lead and extended his points streak to five games. It was his 173rd goal as a Blue, passing Red Berenson for eighth among forwards on the franchise list.

NOTES: Blues activated F Jaden Schwartz from IR and placed F Magnus Paajarvi on waivers. ... Avalanche D Erik Johnson was drafted first overall by St. Louis in 2006. ... The Avalanche scratched C Colin Wilson, L J.T. Compher and D Mark Barberio. ... The Blues scratched D Carl Gunnarsson, R Chris Thorburn and C Oskar Sundqvist.

UP NEXT

Avalanche: Travel to Vancouver on Tuesday night.

Blues: Host Montreal on Tuesday night.

–––

More AP hockey: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey

Sizzling Avs win 8th straight by holding off Sharks 5-3

By PAT GRAHAM
AP Sports Writer

DENVER (AP) -- The Colorado Avalanche looked unstoppable early and shaky down the stretch in nearly blowing a big lead.

Bottom line: The streak goes on.

Nathan MacKinnon scored twice during a 58-second span in the first period, Matt Nieto added a late insurance goal and the Avalanche won their eighth straight by holding off the San Jose Sharks 5-3 on Thursday night.

Carl Soderberg also scored, while Mikko Rantanen had a goal and two assists for the Avs, who've won eight in a row for the first time since the 2005-06 season. It's tied for the third-longest streak in franchise history.

Even more, Colorado has never trailed during the stretch and has outscored teams by a 34-13 margin.

"We are earning what we get right now," MacKinnon said. "We are playing some good hockey and we are a good team.

"We know we aren't going to win every game - we could lose two or three in a row. But this is a good foundation for us to realize how we are going to win. We're not just lucky, winning eight straight. There is a reason why. So when some adversity comes in, we can look back on this."

What looked like a cakewalk turned into anything but with Colorado nearly squandering a 4-0 advantage. The Sharks sliced the deficit to a goal when Joe Thornton scored early in the third period. Nieto sealed the win with a goal against his former team with 3:14 remaining. The Sharks pulled goaltender Martin Jones for around 3 minutes, but couldn't score.

Timo Meier and Marc-Edouard Vlasic also had goals for San Jose.

Jonathan Bernier stopped 45 shots to run his winning streak to a career-best seven games. He's filling in with starter Semyon Varlamov sidelined by a lower-body injury.

Bernier made a big save on a power play in the third period, when he just stuck out his left pad to thwart Tomas Hertl , who had several opportunities to tie up the game.

"I should score like five goals. The goalie owned me today," Hertl said. "It's a little bit on me, because the chances were there. I should put it in. They should be goals."

Still, the Sharks showed some late spunk, which pleased their coach.

"You don't get points in the standings for that, but we've got a group that doesn't lay down in those situations," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "We take a lot of pride in that."

Colorado weathered seven penalties and was outshot by San Jose 48-22.

"You can't play a perfect game, you have to learn from it," Bernier said. "We're happy to get this thing rolling."

Speaking of rolling, the line of Rantanen, Gabriel Landeskog and MacKinnon combined for three goals and four assists.

There's no place quite like Pepsi Center for MacKinnon, who leads the league in scoring at home with 44 points (17 goals, 27 assists) in 25 games. He put the Avalanche up early in the first period when he sent a wrist shot through the legs of Vlasic and through the pads of Jones.

He added another on a slap shot that ticked off Jones' glove and went in. MacKinnon also was credited with an assist on a goal in the second period that hit Rantanen off and bounced in. It gave Colorado a 4-0 lead.

There was a scary moment in the second when Soderberg took a skate to the neck when he fell to the ice. He headed to the bench and into the dressing room to get about five stitches. He returned later in the second.

"I'm OK," Soderberg said.

NOTES: The Sharks are in a stretch during which they play 14 of 18 games on the road. ... This was the first of three meetings between San Jose and Colorado. ... Avalanche C Tyson Jost (lower body) was out of the lineup, while LW J.T. Compher (upper body) returned after missing six games. "They're kind of trading off injuries," coach Jared Bednar said. ... F Sven Andrighetto (lower body) was placed on injured reserve. ... Varlamov has resumed skating, Bednar said. ... Colorado has scored 92 goals on home ice, the most in the league.

UP NEXT

Sharks: Host Pittsburgh on Saturday.

Avalanche: Wrap up a three-game homestand Saturday against the New York Rangers.

MacKinnon helps Avs beat Ducks 3-1 for 7th straight win

By PAT GRAHAM
AP Sports Writer

DENVER (AP) -- The save by Jonathan Bernier that sticks out the most was the one where he simply stuck out his stick.

Out of sheer desperation, no less. To thwart what looked to be a sure goal, too. It's just another sign of how well things have been going for the Colorado Avalanche in recent weeks.

Nathan MacKinnon kept up his torrid home scoring with a goal, Bernier turned back 33 shots and the Avalanche beat the Anaheim Ducks 3-1 on Monday for their seventh straight win.

Matt Nieto and Colin Wilson also scored for the Avs, who are outscoring opponents 29-10 during their longest win streak since the 2005-06 season.

MacKinnon leads the league in scoring on home ice this season with 41 points (15 goals and 26 assists) in 24 games.

"We're feeling good," said MacKinnon, whose team is vying to make the playoffs for the first time since 2013-14. "For us, it's so tight, we can't get comfortable. ... We have to stay hungry."

Bernier has been sensational since stepping into goal with Semyon Varlamov sidelined by a lower-body injury. Bernier came up big midway through the second period when he reached out with his stick to thwart Ryan Kesler. That set up a rush the other way, with MacKinnon scoring on a wrist shot past Ryan Miller.

"It happens quite a bit in hockey - you make a big save, you go to the other side and you score," said Bernier, who has a career-best six-game win streak. "It was nice to be rewarded. You make a big save and you get a big goal."

Chris Wagner had a goal in the second period for Anaheim. It was his first goal since Nov. 27.

Anaheim pulled Miller with around 3 minutes remaining, but couldn't get anything by Bernier, who played for Anaheim last season.

"They skate really fast, for the most part, and they capitalized on their chances," Wagner said. "We gave them too many chances off the rush and too many power plays. That hurt us."

The Ducks were without forward Andrew Cogliano as he served the first of a two-game suspension that ended his consecutive games streak at 830 - the fourth-longest in NHL history. He was suspended for an interference penalty against Los Angeles forward Adrian Kempe on Saturday.

Cogliano, who had never missed a game in his career, fought back tears as he talked about the streak on Fox Sports West: "It's a tough pill to swallow. I'm not going to lie. ... I miss the game."

Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle downplayed Cogliano's absence from the lineup.

"You don't like to put too much emphasis on one player being out of your lineup," Carlyle said. "For Cogs, it's unfortunate the suspension is in place. But we take our medicine and move on. It's up to other people to step up and make a difference."

Like forward J.T. Brown, who was just claimed on waivers from Tampa Bay and was in the lineup Monday. He had an assist as he digests a new system.

"You're going to make mistakes. They said, `We'll coach you through them. Don't be afraid to make those mistakes. Just go out there and play,'" Brown said.

Wilson's power-play goal with 19.6 seconds remaining in the second gave the Avalanche a 3-1 lead. Colorado improved to 18-1-1 when ahead entering the final period.

"Our guys are enjoying coming to the rink right now," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "They're playing the right way and they're having success, so that leads to confidence and a little bit of energy and guys wanting to keep this thing going. It's been a fun stretch for sure."

NOTES: Anaheim D Francois Beauchemin was a scratch. ... Colorado won the other matchup between the teams this season 3-1 on Oct. 13 at Pepsi Center. ... Colorado is 7-3-1 on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. ... Avalanche rookie Alexander Kerfoot had an assist to give him at least a point in three straight games. ... Colorado was 1 for 6 on the power play.

UP NEXT

Ducks: Host Pittsburgh on Wednesday to open a five-game homestand.

Avalanche: Host San Jose on Thursday and the New York Rangers on Saturday as part of a three-game homestand.

Kerfoot scores, assists on winner as Avs beat Stars 4-1

Associated Press

DALLAS (AP) When Alexander Kerfoot looks at the Central Division standings, he'll still see his Colorado Avalanche at the bottom.

On Saturday night, the rookie had a big hand in moving the Avalanche within two points of the Dallas Stars for the second wild card in the Western Conference.

Kerfoot scored in the first period and assisted on Nathan MacKinnon's winner in the third, helping Colorado win its sixth straight game, 4-1 over the Dallas Stars.

"It just seems that every night the teams in our division don't lose," Kerfoot said. "If you're following the standings day in and day out, it can get a little frustrating."

Both teams were playing for the first time in a week. The Stars had won four of their previous five games.

MacKinnon made it 2-1 with 13:27 to play on a snap shot from the inside edge of the left faceoff circle. The puck went off goalie Ben Bishop and into the net.

Blake Comeau scored with 1:40 left, and Mark Barberio added an empty-net, short-handed goal with 13 seconds to play.

Colorado's Jonathan Bernier made 27 saves for his fifth straight win while filling in for injured goalie Semyon Varlamov. Bernier has allowed only six goals in those five games.

"He's been incredible," Kerfoot said. "You can just tell from watching him how much confidence he has. He just stepped in when (Varlamov) got hurt."

Jamie Benn had tied it with a rebound goal in the second period.

Dallas had chances to score during two power plays to start the third, but Bernier and Colorado's penalty killers stopped the Stars. Eleven of his saves came during power plays.

"Game turned on the missed power play opportunities in the third period," Dallas coach Ken Hitchcock said. "When you get back to back power plays like that and you have that many quality looks, you're hoping that one of those goes in."

Colorado coach Jared Bednar credited his goalie.

"(Bernier) was really good, especially in the third period when we needed him on some of those penalty kills. For our PK to come up big and kill all four of those off tonight was excellent."

Colorado took a 1-0 lead 14:09 into the first period. Kerfoot skated down the left side to low in the faceoff circle and lifted a snap shot over Bishop.

"It was just a good play by (A.J. Greer) to chip me the puck up," Kerfoot said, "and I think their D-man was a little flat-footed, so I tried to take it to the net."

Dallas outshot the Avalanche 9-6 in the first. On the Stars' best chance, Bernier stopped Benn's backhand on a breakaway.

The Stars won a challenge that disallowed an apparent Colorado goal at 7:03 of the second period. Referee Tim Peel announced that there had been "significant contact" with Bishop by Comeau. Bishop was down behind the goal when Matt Nieto appeared to tip a pass into the empty net.

"I liked our team's composure when our goal got taken away," Bednar said. "You've got to be able to stay composed through some of those calls, and find a way to get the job done."

NOTES: Colorado's Nikita Zadorov had two assists. ... During a six-game points streak, MacKinnon has 13 points (four goals, nine assists). . The Avalanche won the season series, three games to two. ... The Avalanche have successfully killed 45 of 47 power plays in 15 games. . The Stars won 68 percent of the faceoffs, including 10 of 11 taken by Benn. ... Hall of Fame goalie Ed Belfour dropped the ceremonial first puck as the Stars and their fans continued to recognize the top players during their 25 years in Dallas.

UP NEXT

Avalanche: Begin a three-game homestand on Monday night vs. Anaheim.

Stars: Play at Boston on Monday night to open a four-game trip.

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More AP hockey: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey

Erik Johnson scores late in OT, Avalanche beat Jets 3-2

By PAT GRAHAM
AP Sports Writer

DENVER (AP) -- Erik Johnson's stumble in overtime nearly led to the winning goal for Winnipeg, but his goaltender bailed him out.

Given another opportunity, Johnson didn't stumble again.

The Avalanche defenseman scored on a breakaway with 9.9 seconds remaining on the clock in OT, Jonathan Bernier stopped 22 shots after taking over for an injured Semyon Varlamov in the second period and Colorado beat the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 on Tuesday night.

Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon also scored to help the Avalanche win their third straight.

Johnson scored the winner when Rantanen poked the puck ahead to him and he put it past Connor Hellebuyck, one of the stingiest goaltenders in the NHL of late.

"As a defenseman you don't get too many breakaways, so I wanted to make it count," Johnson said.

Hellebuyck and the Jets dropped to 0-6 in overtime this season - 1-7 factoring in shootouts.

"Sick of these overtime losses," Hellebuyck said. "I thought we deserved more."

Both teams had plenty of chances in overtime, with Rantanen robbed by Hellebuyck down low early. But the biggest play was turned in by Bernier after defenseman Dustin Byfuglien took advantage of Johnson's turnover for a breakaway. And while Byfuglien sent the puck through the goaltender's pads, Bernier's skate deflected it wide at the last instant.

"I think (Bernier) got beat more on his than I got beat more on mine," Hellebuyck said. "But that's just how the game goes sometimes. You get bad luck."

Blake Wheeler scored twice for the Jets, including the tying goal with 32.2 seconds remaining in regulation and Hellebuyck on the bench for an extra skater.

"Big-time player, right?" Jets coach Paul Maurice said. "We cut down to three lines, so they ran hard there toward the end of the game. Such a fit man that he can push hard."

Varlamov turned back 21 shots before retreating to the locker room with a lower-body injury. It's concerning for Colorado, given that Varlamov was limited to 24 games last season due to a nagging groin injury that he tried to remedy through hip surgery.

Asked if he had a feel for any sort of prognosis, coach Jared Bednar simply said: "No. I don't. I haven't talked to the trainers. Don't know the specifics of it yet."

Bernier was thrown into a difficult situation as he entered with 5:45 left in the second and the Jets on the power play. He quickly warmed up, though.

"Give a huge credit to him," Johnson said. "He deserves a whole lot of credit for the way he played."

The Avalanche killed off three more penalties to run their streak to 36 straight before Wheeler ended it with a power-play goal 47 seconds into the third period.

Wheeler's tying goal in the waning seconds was set up after a bizarre carom off the boards as Bernier went behind the net to cut off the puck. Bernier had to dive back in front, but it wasn't in time.

All in all, a solid night.

"I felt pretty good," Bernier said. "When you come in it feels like everything's coming kind of fast. But tonight I felt pretty good."

MacKinnon scored his 17th goal of the season in the second period and set up Rantanen's tally 3:47 later to give Colorado a 2-0 lead. The speedy MacKinnon was in the top five in scoring on New Year's Day - significant because the last Avs player to do that was Joe Sakic in 2003-04.

The Avs have been a completely different squad this season and find themselves in the thick of the playoff chase. The team already is 18 points ahead of where it was at this juncture a season ago.

"We're feeling good, feel like we're playing good hockey," MacKinnon said. "We're not good enough to get comfortable - that's for sure."

NOTES: Byfuglien returned to the lineup after missing 10 games with a lower-body injury. ... Avalanche forward Sven Andrighetto is day to day with a lower-body injury. ... Rantanen had two assists.

UP NEXT

Jets: Return home Friday to face Buffalo.

Avalanche: Host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.

---

Brown caps 1,000th game with OT goal, Kings edge Avs 2-1

By STEVE DILBECK
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The team was dragging and maybe Dustin Brown was, too.

The Los Angeles Kings, fresh off an eight-game winning streak, had suddenly lost three of four. And midway through the third period Thursday night, they were in danger of being shut out for the first time this season.

But then Alec Martinez scored from the blue line and the Kings turned to Brown, playing his 1,000th NHL game. His goal 44 seconds into overtime gave Los Angeles a 2-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche.

"It was fitting. Almost poetic justice," Kings coach John Stevens said. "It was really, really nice to see him get the winning goal in that situation.

"The accolades and the compliments you give Brownie, I don't think you can overdo it."

It was the 13th goal of the season for Brown, one shy of his total from last season and two more than he'd managed in the two previous seasons.

Many, if not most, thought Brown's career had ebbed three years ago. Now age 33, few anticipated a revival.

"I think Brownie deserves credit for what's happened," Stevens said. "He came in ready to go. There's nothing given in this game - it's earned.

"I think he got off track there a little bit, but he was honest with what kind of player he wanted to be and was willing to do the work to become that kind of player again. I know a lot of people are surprised, but I'm not surprised."

The Avalanche had won four of their last six and outplayed the Kings for most of the night, but were clinging to just a 1-0 lead. Gabriel Landeskog put Colorado ahead midway through the second period, whistling in a wrist shot from beyond the circle.

"I liked the way we played tonight," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "We were patient. They made a couple of pushes and we did a good job of weathering the storm."

Martinez's long goal against Semyon Varlamov found its way through traffic to the back of the net.

"They throw it to the net from a point that has eyes and finds its way through a crowd," Bednar said.

The goal gave a lethargic-looking Kings team life. Suddenly they began attacking and playing with more confidence, the approach paying off when Brown skated down the far side and rifled his shot past Varlamov.

"The big picture was really nice. Probably for me, a memory," Brown said. "We didn't play very good. But good teams find a way to win when maybe they shouldn't."

Varlamov made 25 saves, including several outstanding stops for Colorado.

"I thought we played very well today defensively," he said. "We just didn't score. If we scored a second goal I think we win this game. But LA is a really good team playing at home. They never give up."

It was the 10th time this season the Kings won after allowing the first goal, a league best.

And this time Brown won it on his milestone night.

"I can't say enough about Brownie," Martinez said. "He's been an unbelievable leader and a huge part of this organization ever since he was drafted when he was 18.

"He's been through a lot in this organization and had a lot of ups and downs, but he's never wavered."

NOTES: Brown has played his entire career with the Kings. Dave Taylor (1,111 games) is the only other player to have played his first 1,000 games for Los Angeles. . Landeskog's goal was his 14th of the season. He trails Nathan MacKinnon by one for the team lead. ... Jonathan Quick stopped 31 shots for the Kings.

UP NEXT

Avalanche: End their two-game road trip Saturday against the Arizona Coyotes.

Kings: Travel to San Jose to play the Sharks on Saturday.

Brown caps 1,000th game with OT goal, Kings edge Avs 2-1

By STEVE DILBECK
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The team was dragging and maybe Dustin Brown was, too.

The Los Angeles Kings, fresh off an eight-game winning streak, had suddenly lost three of four. And midway through the third period Thursday night, they were in danger of being shut out for the first time this season.

But then Alec Martinez scored from the blue line and the Kings turned to Brown, playing his 1,000th NHL game. His goal 44 seconds into overtime gave Los Angeles a 2-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche.

"It was fitting. Almost poetic justice," Kings coach John Stevens said. "It was really, really nice to see him get the winning goal in that situation.

"The accolades and the compliments you give Brownie, I don't think you can overdo it."

It was the 13th goal of the season for Brown, one shy of his total from last season and two more than he'd managed in the two previous seasons.

Many, if not most, thought Brown's career had ebbed three years ago. Now age 33, few anticipated a revival.

"I think Brownie deserves credit for what's happened," Stevens said. "He came in ready to go. There's nothing given in this game - it's earned.

"I think he got off track there a little bit, but he was honest with what kind of player he wanted to be and was willing to do the work to become that kind of player again. I know a lot of people are surprised, but I'm not surprised."

The Avalanche had won four of their last six and outplayed the Kings for most of the night, but were clinging to just a 1-0 lead. Gabriel Landeskog put Colorado ahead midway through the second period, whistling in a wrist shot from beyond the circle.

"I liked the way we played tonight," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "We were patient. They made a couple of pushes and we did a good job of weathering the storm."

Martinez's long goal against Semyon Varlamov found its way through traffic to the back of the net.

"They throw it to the net from a point that has eyes and finds its way through a crowd," Bednar said.

The goal gave a lethargic-looking Kings team life. Suddenly they began attacking and playing with more confidence, the approach paying off when Brown skated down the far side and rifled his shot past Varlamov.

"The big picture was really nice. Probably for me, a memory," Brown said. "We didn't play very good. But good teams find a way to win when maybe they shouldn't."

Varlamov made 25 saves, including several outstanding stops for Colorado.

"I thought we played very well today defensively," he said. "We just didn't score. If we scored a second goal I think we win this game. But LA is a really good team playing at home. They never give up."

It was the 10th time this season the Kings won after allowing the first goal, a league best.

And this time Brown won it on his milestone night.

"I can't say enough about Brownie," Martinez said. "He's been an unbelievable leader and a huge part of this organization ever since he was drafted when he was 18.

"He's been through a lot in this organization and had a lot of ups and downs, but he's never wavered."

NOTES: Brown has played his entire career with the Kings. Dave Taylor (1,111 games) is the only other player to have played his first 1,000 games for Los Angeles. . Landeskog's goal was his 14th of the season. He trails Nathan MacKinnon by one for the team lead. ... Jonathan Quick stopped 31 shots for the Kings.

UP NEXT

Avalanche: End their two-game road trip Saturday against the Arizona Coyotes.

Kings: Travel to San Jose to play the Sharks on Saturday.

Barrie leads Avs past Pens

DENVER -- Losing Erik Johnson before playing the Pittsburgh Penguins was a blow for the Colorado Avalanche.

Tyson Barrie made up for the veteran defenseman's absence.

Barrie scored two goals, Semyon Varlamov had 30 saves, and the Avalanche beat the Penguins 4-2 on Monday night.

J.T. Compher and Mikko Rantanen also scored and Sven Andrighetto had two assists for Colorado, which swept the season series from the two-time reigning Stanley Cup champions.

Colorado won the only other matchup in Pittsburgh a week ago.

The Avalanche (16-15-2) were without Johnson -- the team's top defenseman and ice-time leader -- while he served the first of his two-game suspension for boarding Vladislav Namestnikov in Saturday's loss to Tampa Bay. Going against Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin is tough when you're at full strength on the blue line, but Johnson's absence made it harder.

"You can't replace EJ," Barrie said. "It'll be nice to get him back here after another game. Everyone's got to step up and do the best they can and try and pick up the slack."

Chad Ruhwedel had a goal and an assist, Malkin also scored and Matthew Murray had 33 saves for Pittsburgh (17-15-3). The Penguins have lost four of their last five.

"We got outplayed. We got outplayed in the second period badly," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "I thought they were hungrier than we were. We took penalties. I think we took three or four penalties in the second period. That doesn't help. But we got outplayed. They were better than us."

The Avalanche took control with a pair of goals in the second period. Barrie broke a 1-1 tie with his second of the game after Pittsburgh's Ian Cole went off for crosschecking. His shot from the point went through teammates and Penguins players and beat Murray at 5:56 of the second.

It was one of a team-high 11 shot attempts for Barrie, who leads the Avalanche in points with 27.

"I thought Tyson was outstanding tonight," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "I love the way he was shooting the puck."

Colorado took a 3-1 lead into the third after Compher scored at 18:20 of the second. The center knocked Andrighetto's rebound out of the air and past Murray. It was Compher's fifth goal of the season and his first in nine games.

The goal capped a big period for Colorado, which outshot the Penguins 15-6.

"(The) second period is very important," Malkin said. "We lost (it), and we lost game."

The Avalanche also benefitted from a good game from Varlamov -- and a little puck luck. He stopped Phil Kessel on a breakaway early in the first and then was able to clear away Josh Archibald's shot that dribbled through his legs and rested on the goal line in the second period.

Malkin cut Pittsburgh's deficit to one with his 11th goal 1:25 into the third, and the Penguins put pressure on Colorado the rest of the period. Their best chance to score came in the last six minutes when Ryan Reaves hit the post on a rebound shot.

Murray came off for an extra skater in the final two minutes and Rantanen scored into the empty net at 18:27.

Barrie gave Colorado a 1-0 lead at 5:04 of the first and Ruhwedel's shot right off a faceoff hit Varlamov and trickled through the goalie at 10:39 of the first to tie it.

Both of Barrie's goals came through screens, and the first one set the tone for the game.

"I picked it up by the time it was a couple of feet in front of me," Murray said of Barrie's goal in the first. "Just wasn't able to react quick enough. He had a couple of inches to put it inside the post and he made a pretty good shot."

NOTES: Penguins RW Patric Hornqvist was sent back to Pittsburgh for further evaluation of his upper-body injury suffered in Saturday's 4-2 win In Arizona. Hornqvist has 11 goals and 10 assists in 31 games this season. ... Colorado C Alexander Kerfoot returned to the lineup after missing three games with a foot injury. Kerfoot was hurt by a shot from teammate Erik Johnson in the game in Pittsburgh on Dec. 11. ... Pittsburgh C Dominik Simon was scratched due to illness. ... Johnson is the second key Avalanche player to be suspended this season. Captain Gabriel Landeskog served a four-game suspension in November.

MacKinnon, Avalanche beat Panthers 2-1

DENVER -- Nathan MacKinnon got off to a slow start this season, but he is making up for it with a dominant stretch for the Colorado Avalanche.

MacKinnon scored two goals, Semyon Varlamov made 32 saves, and the Avalanche beat the Florida Panthers 2-1 on Thursday night.

It was MacKinnon's third two-goal game this season and it helped Colorado (15-14-2) beat Florida for the second time in five days. The Avalanche beat the Panthers 7-3 in Florida on Saturday night.

MacKinnon had a goal in that victory and now has 13 this season. After scoring just once in the first 10 games, he has 12 goals in the past 22.

"I felt it was coming. In October I felt like I was playing pretty good," said MacKinnon, who leads the Avalanche with 35 points. "I played better in some of those games and didn't get anything, and I got some points in some games where I didn't play that great the last month and a half."

He was unhappy with his play Tuesday in a 5-2 loss at Washington that ended a four-game road trip. He made up for it Thursday while logging 22:03 of ice time with coach Jared Bednar opting to go with seven defensemen against Florida.

"That line, Nate in particular, was unhappy with the last game," Bednar said. "It was sort of a tough day in Wash and that was a hungry and determined line tonight. Mac, especially, playing the 11 forwards, he doubled up almost the whole game and made the most of his ice time, for sure."

Aleksander Barkov scored for Florida (12-15-5) and James Reimer had 28 saves but couldn't stop MacKinnon with the game tied.

MacKinnon was denied a goal by Reimer's glove at 4:44 of the third, but he got the best of the goalie two minutes later for the game-winner.

He got a pass from Mark Barberio at the Florida blue line and got around defenseman Aaron Ekblad. MacKinnon's shot went off Reimer's body on the short side and in at 6:44.

"You just have to try to take away as much as you can. Unfortunately it just found a puck-sized hole," Reimer said.

The Panthers pulled Reimer for an extra skater with 1:36 left but couldn't get the equalizer.

"We had a lot of opportunities, but you have to give them credit; they played well, especially their goalie," center Jared McCann said. "Second opportunities off of first shots is what we need to work on."

MacKinnon, double-shifting on the fourth line, gave Colorado a 1-0 lead when he beat Reimer from the top of the left circle at 3:15 of the second period.

The Panthers tied it up with a shorthanded goal later in the second. Jamie McGinn stripped the puck from Samuel Girard behind Colorado's net and then fed Barkov streaking down the left side, and he shot it past Varlamov for his 11th of the season at 10:27.

Vincent Trocheck nearly gave Florida the lead minutes later, but his shot rang off the post.

The Avalanche outshot Florida 16-12 in the first period, but it was the Panthers with the higher-quality chances. Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau grazed posts with shots and Varlamov made a big save on a rebound shot in the slot by Connor Brickley in the final minutes of the period.

"It's always important at the start of the game to play well, make a couple saves," Varlamov said. "It gives the team confidence when they see the goalie is on his game."

NOTES: The Avalanche weren't called for a penalty until midway through the third period. ... Florida has scored six shorthanded goals this season, which is tied with San Jose for most in the NHL this season. Colorado has allowed six goals on its power play. ... Florida C Denis Malgin was scratched with an upper-body injury. Malgin, who has four goals in 14 games, left Tuesday's overtime loss in Chicago and was ruled out after Thursday's morning skate. ... Avalanche C Alexander Kerfoot missed his second straight game with a foot injury. Kerfoot was hurt when he took a shot from teammate Erik Johnson off the foot in Monday's win at Pittsburgh.

Kuznetsov, Holtby help Capitals defeat Avalanche

WASHINGTON -- The Washington Capitals got beaten badly the first time they played the Colorado Avalanche this season.

They enjoyed Tuesday night's result a whole lot more.

Evgeny Kuznetsov had three assists, Braden Holtby stopped 22 shots one night after being pulled in the second period of a loss and the Capitals defeated the Avalanche 5-2.

The Capitals (19-12-1) got revenge for their 6-2 loss at Colorado on Nov. 16, arguably Washington's low point of the season. They are 9-3-0 since.

"We didn't have maybe our best game last night and these guys handed us our lunch last time," Capitals head coach Barry Trotz said. "I think (we) wanted to have a good response.

"We had good puck possession, some real good looks, and I think over time they wore down."

Jakub Vrana, John Carlson, Matt Niskanen, Brett Connolly and Devante Smith-Pelly scored for Washington, and Madison Bowey had two assists.

Colin Wilson and Tyson Jost scored for the Avalanche (14-14-2), and Semyon Varlamov made 22 saves against his former team.

"Tonight, we just didn't have the get-up-and-go that we needed," Avs head coach Jared Bednar said, "and I would say the commitment to sort of fight through a tough game for us just wasn't where it needed to be."

Colorado, coming off a win in Pittsburgh on Monday night, finished its road trip 2-2.

"It's a pretty good road trip coming out 2-2," Bednar said. "I'd like to have another point or two out of it, but it's satisfactory, let's put it that way."

Holtby would normally get one of back-to-back games off, but was pulled 1:34 into the second period during Monday's 3-1 loss at the New York Islanders. He allowed all three goals, and coach Barry Trotz opted to put him right back in the saddle against Colorado.

"We definitely put in a better effort. More committed, more energy," Holtby said. "I thought we just kind of were dead last game, myself included, and I think we all did what we needed to do throughout the day to get ourselves ready. Some areas of the game where we really excelled at and got some big goals at big times."

Washington hasn't lost back-to-back games in almost a month. They also have not yielded a power-play goal in eight games (18 for 18) after the Avalanche went 0 for 4.

The Capitals took an early 1-0 lead. Kuznetsov entered the Avalanche zone on a 3-on-2 rush. He held the puck until the defensemen committed, then fed to Vrana on his left and Vrana fired over Varlamov's shoulder for his ninth goal at 5:25.

Colorado tied it early in the second when Matt Nieto won a puck battle behind Holtby and fed out in front to Wilson, who controlled the puck and lifted a backhander into the top of the net at 4:13.

Wilson could have made it 2-1 on breakaway with less than seven minutes left in the period, but Holtby made the save.

"Big save on the breakaway," Connolly said. "Seems like he's always there to bail us out when we need him. ... Great bounce back game for him too."

Instead, Washington pulled ahead when Avs defenseman Tyson Barrie pushed the puck out toward the blue line on a broken play in front of Varlamov. Carlson, skating in, blasted a one-timer past Varlamov with 2:18 left in the period.

Connolly increased the lead to 3-1 at 5:15 of the third. With an extra attacker on the ice during a delayed penalty, Bowey sent a pass across ice and Connolly one-timed it home for what proved to be the game winner and his fourth goal in six games.

"He made a great play," Connolly said of Bowey. "I was calling for it a little bit over there. He made a great play, froze the goalie and I just kind of had to get it in the upper half of the net and I was fortunate enough to put it where I wanted."

Niskanen pushed the lead to 4-1 at 16:19 off a nice feed from Kuznetsov.

"Our execution wasn't all there," Colorado's Mark Barberio said. "I thought they brought the game to us more than we did to them."

NOTES: Washington is 13-0-1 when it leads after the first period. ... Capitals F T.J. Oshie (upper body injury) missed his fourth game. Coach Barry Trotz said Oshie will not travel to Boston for Thursday's game, but will resume practicing when the team returns home. ... Colorado RW Nail Yakupov was a healthy scratch for the third straight game. ... With his second-period goal, Avs C Colin Wilson is two short of 100 for his career. ... Washington's Andre Burakovsky picked up an assist for his 100th NHL point.

Barberio, struggling Avalanche surprise Penguins

PITTSBURGH -- Colorado coach Jared Bednar didn't have to search hard for a way to describe his club's 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night at PPG Paints Arena.

"Gutsy. Liked it," Bednar said of a game that was scoreless for more than 45 minutes.

Defenseman Mark Barberio's goal at 6:17 of the third period broke the scoreless tie and former Penguins winger Blake Comeau added an empty-netter to make it 2-0 before Pittsburgh's Phil Kessel spoiled what would have been a shutout for goaltender Jonathan Bernier with 11.8 seconds left.

"This was a big game," Barberio said of beating the defending Stanley Cup champions. "All around, I think we committed to good defensive hockey, and we earned that one."

Barberio, just two games removed from being a healthy scratch for Colorado, equaled his goal output from last season with his second of the season. His shot from the high slot clipped the skate of Penguins center Riley Sheahan in front, and the puck deflected high past the glove of Pittsburgh goaltender Tristan Jarry.

"It changed direction a little bit," Jarry said. "I think it went off somebody's foot. I just tried to get over and get up on it as quick as I could. I couldn't get it."

Jarry made 26 saves and is on a 1-2-0 stretch plus a no-decision after getting pulled following one period Saturday.

Bernier had a heavier workload, stopping 39 shots, and was disappointed he didn't pick up his second shutout of the season.

"It's hard enough to get one when you're so close," he said. "Obviously, it's tough. At the same time, we got the big two points for us. That's what matters."

The Avalanche (14-13-2) have won two in a row following a four-game losing streak and are 2-1-0 on a road trip that ends Tuesday in Washington.

The Penguins (16-13-3) have lost two straight and three of four following a four-game winning streak. They finished 2-3-0 on their season-high, five-game homestand.

"We certainly need to evaluate what's going on and why we're losing games, especially here at home where we've been so good," Pittsburgh defenseman Ian Cole said. "We need to figure this out, and we need to figure it out in a hurry. We were preaching patience early on, but now it's getting to the point when if we didn't feel that urgency to figure it out then, we certainly should now."

Coming in, both teams were focused on the way they were opening games.

Pittsburgh had a 13-6 shot advantage in the first, but Colorado came closest to scoring.

Nathan MacKinnon outmaneuvered defenseman Kris Letang and moved in from the left point. Although he partially fanned on his shot, the puck slid under Jarry at 15:56. However, the goal was waved off when the Penguins challenged and it was ruled that MacKinnon had been offside.

"That was close, as close as it gets," Bednar said.

After a scoreless second, Pittsburgh came roaring out in the third, building a 7-1 edge in shots. The Penguins couldn't get a goal with their push, but they didn't let up.

"Frustration is a useless emotion," Cole said. "If it's something where things aren't going our way or the goals aren't going in for whatever reason, getting frustrated doesn't help the issue. You can't frustrate the puck into the net and get mad about it."

It was Barberio who struck first with an unassisted goal.

"It was a good play," Barberio said. "We were doing the right things. Driving the puck in deep. Trying to get it toward the net. The puck just popped out perfectly for me. I just tried to get it through. It obviously hit a leg, but we'll take it."

Jarry found it discouraging to give up the first goal after the game was scoreless for so long.

"It's a tough one to swallow, and it's something I'll watch video on and improve on," the rookie said.

NOTES: Colorado C Alexander Kerfoot left with an undisclosed injury. ... Pittsburgh G Matt Murray (lower body) participated in his second consecutive morning skate but was not available to dress. He could face former Penguins G Marc-Andre Fleury on Thursday at Vegas. ... Colorado D Erik Johnson, who left the Saturday game at Florida after blocking a shot, was in the lineup. ... Colorado RW Nail Yakupov (illness) missed his third game in a row, and the Avalanche dressed seven defensemen. ... The game was the Penguins' 500th straight sellout (regular season and playoffs).

Power-play strike lifts Lightning past Avalanche

TAMPA, Fla. -- Give the Tampa Bay Lightning enough chances, and the NHL's top power-play team will keep scoring.

Tampa Bay pulled away with a power-play goal in the third period, its eighth consecutive game with at least one tally on the man advantage, in a 5-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night at Amalie Arena.

The Lightning (20-6-2) missed on their first three power plays but scored on the fourth as Alex Killorn got his third goal of the season and his second in the past 25 games.

Tampa Bay has won three straight at home by a combined 16-6, while Colorado (12-13-2) dropped its fourth straight, giving up 16 goals in the past three.

Lightning center Steven Stamkos had a goal and two assists, moving ahead of teammate Nikita Kucherov for the NHL lead with 41 points. Vladislav Namestnikov also produced one goal and two assists.

Backup Tampa Bay goalie Peter Budaj picked up his second win in five starts this season, finishing with 28 saves, including 14 in the final period.

"It's a tough job," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said of being a backup goalie. "You always have to stay ready, whether it's four or five in a row you're not going to play. The tough part has always been the first few minutes, and then he settles in and he's lights out. There's a reason he's been so good at it for so many years."

Tampa Bay added a four-on-six short-handed empty-net goal from Brayden Point, who sent the puck the length of the ice to put the game away with 3:19 left. It was his 11th goal of the season.

The Lightning led 3-2 after two periods, thanks to a goal by Namestnikov -- his 12th this season -- with 11:51 left in the second. Stamkos fired a pass from behind the net to Tyler Johnson, whose shot bounced wide, and the quick rebound from Namestnikov went in for the lead.

The two teams traded goals early. Colorado's Gabriel Landeskog, fresh off a four-game suspension, scored at 1:21, beating Budaj for his 10th goal.

"I was excited to be back out there and saw an opportunity to take it to the net," Landeskog said. "I got lucky."

That lead didn't last long. Stamkos outskated two Avalanche defenders to track down a loose puck and backhand a shot past Colorado goalie Semyon Varlamov (27 saves) to tie the game 25 seconds later. The goal was the 12th for Stamkos.

"Stammer had a really strong game tonight," Cooper said. "When you go down, to answer like that, I think everybody took a breath. We had a really strong first, and it was too bad we couldn't come out with the lead, but we knew we were playing well."

The Lightning took a 2-1 lead with 13:36 left in the first when Chris Kunitz redirected a shot from Dan Girardi past Varlamov for his fifth goal and second in as many games. Again, the Avalanche answered, with Erik Johnson getting a breakaway and putting a shot through Budaj's legs for a 2-2 tie with 1:38 left in the period.

Colorado has struggled, especially on the defensive end, giving up a combined 16 goals in the past three losses as it continues a four-game road trip.

"That's four in a row now. We have to find a way to get out of this one," Landeskog said. "We're going to have to watch some video and assess what we're doing, what we can do better and what's really costing us."

Tampa Bay, which came in as the NHL's top scoring team, led 3-2 after two periods thanks to Namestnikov's goal.

NOTES: Lightning D Braydon Coburn missed a third consecutive game due to a lower-body injury, while D Jamie McBain and RW J.T. Brown were both healthy scratches. ... Colorado had D Duncan Siemens, LW Gabriel Bourque and RW Nail Yakupov as healthy scratches. ... Colorado continues a four-game road trip at the Florida Panthers on Saturday, while the Lightning wrap up a four-game homestand Saturday against the Winnipeg Jets before hitting the road for their next four.

Sabres snap skid by beating Avalanche

DENVER -- Evander Kane was stopped on a great scoring opportunity early in the game, but given another chance in the third period, he didn't miss.

Kane scored a tiebreaking goal late in game, and the Buffalo Sabres beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-2 on Tuesday night to snap a four-game losing streak.

Jack Eichel, Jake McCabe and Benoit Pouliot had a goal and an assist apiece, and Robin Lehner made 35 saves and for the Sabres (7-17-4).

"We played pretty good," said Lehner, who had several saves in the final two minutes when the Avalanche pulled goaltender Semyon Varlamov for an extra attacker. "This was a back-and-forth game, and we gave them some momentum with the penalties. They had some good grade-A chances."

Nathan MacKinnon scored two power-play goals, Alexander Kerfoot had two assists and Varlamov stopped 31 shots for Colorado. The Avalanche (12-12-2) have lost three straight and dropped four of five on their homestand.

"We dug ourselves in a hole for sure," MacKinnon said. "We should have been better on this homestand. We didn't take advantage of what we had in front of us. Hopefully it doesn't bite us at the end of the season."

Buffalo has scored 60 goals this season, the fewest in the NHL and an average of 2.14 per game, and the Sabres were shut out three times during the four-game losing streak before breaking out against Colorado.

The Sabres also hadn't gotten a goal from a defenseman before Tuesday, but McCabe changed that with his first, which came with a bit of controversy.

McCabe beat Varlamov with a screened shot at 18:59 of the second, but the Avalanche challenged the play was offside. Replays showed the puck clearing the zone with two Buffalo players still below the blue line as Johan Larsson tipped it into the offensive zone.

After a review the goal was upheld, Colorado was assessed a delay-of-game minor, and the Sabres took a 2-1 lead into the second intermission.

"The hockey gods were on our side on that call, and hopefully the floodgates open up for us on the back end," McCabe said.

The NHL Situation Room sent out a tweet explaining the ruling: "All Sabres players tagged up at the blue line prior to Johan Larsson touching the puck in the offensive zone, rendering the play onside."

MacKinnon tied it with this 10th goal midway through the third period, but Kane got the go-ahead goal, his 13th, less than two minutes later to put the Sabres back in front.

Buffalo coach Phil Housley was happy his players didn't hang their heads after MacKinnon's second goal.

"Especially in the position we're in," he said. "It would be easy to get down and go in a different direction, but the guys fought the whole night."

Eichel scored into an empty net with 33 seconds left to ice it.

The Avalanche's poor homestand is similar to one that started their slide last year. They were 9-9-0 on Nov. 21, 2016, but an 0-4-1 homestand started a 4-24-2 stretch.

MacKinnon bristled at the comparison to last season.

"It's a new season, it's a new team," he said. "What does it have to do with last year?"

The Sabres scored first when Ryan O'Reilly, who had two assists, stole the puck on a Colorado power play and fed Pouliot for his seventh goal of the season at 5:32 of the second period.

MacKinnon tied it at 1-1 when he scored on Colorado' fourth power-play chance on a shot to the short side at 12:22 of the second.

NOTES: Buffalo C Scott Wilson had 14:19 of ice time a day after coming to the Sabres in a trade with the Detroit Red Wings. ... Colorado LW Gabriel Landeskog served the last contest of his four-game suspension for his crosscheck of Calgary's Matthew Tkachuk on Nov. 25. ... The Sabres waived F Matt Moulson on Monday, and the veteran cleared waivers on Tuesday. He is on loan to the Los Angeles Kings' AHL affiliate. ... Colorado recalled F Rocco Grimaldi from San Antonio of the AHL on Monday. It is his second call-up of the season.

Seguin scores twice, Stars beat Avalanche 7-2

By DENNIS GEORGATOS
Associated Press

DENVER (AP) — Tyler Seguin got the Dallas Stars going, and plenty of his teammates joined in.

Seguin scored two early goals and the Stars beat the Colorado Avalanche 7-2 on Sunday night for their fifth consecutive victory.

Brett Ritchie also had two goals, and Jason Spezza and Greg Pateryn each added one for the Stars, who haven’t lost since a 3-0 setback at Colorado on Nov. 22. Devin Shore scored short-handed into an empty net at 17:24 of the third period. Ritchie closed out the scoring seconds later with his second of the night.

“Tonight, it wasn’t just our line, it was the whole team,” Seguin said after the Stars set a season high for goals. “It’s everybody. It’s when you have guys like (Radek) Faksa who has five goals or whatever in the last few games. Not only does that give him confidence, it gives his linemates confidence, it gives everyone else confidence. It’s been a domino effect through the lineup.”

Dallas coach Ken Hitchcock likes what he’s seen during the streak.

“We are playing the right way,” he said. “We are not chasing the game up and down the ice. We aren’t gambling on 50/50 situations. We are playing smart. You play the game the right way, you give yourselves a chance to win games. That’s what we are doing.”

Blake Comeau and Mikko Rantanen had the goals for the Avalanche, who lost back-to-back home games for the first time this season.

Colorado defenseman Erik Johnson said his team made too many mistakes to be competitive against the Stars.

“We gave them everything they got tonight,” Johnson said. “We turned the puck over, we were sloppy and there’s no excuse. There’s no one to blame but ourselves for that one.

“You just have to flush it down the toilet and focus on the next one. We played horrible.”

Trailing 2-0, the Avalanche got on the board 39 seconds into the second when Nathan MacKinnon sent a cross-ice pass to Rantanen, who wristed the puck over goalie Kari Lehtonen’s glove from the left circle.

But the Stars added two goals 1:04 apart, on a shot by Spezza at 6:48 that clanged off the post, followed by Pateryn’s backhand that slipped through Jonathan Bernier’s pads at 7:52.

Bernier, who made 28 saves in Colorado’s shutout win over the Stars two weeks ago, was pulled after Pateryn’s goal in favor of Semyon Varlamov. Bernier gave up four goals on nine shots.

Colorado pulled to 4-2 when Comeau knocked in a rebound at 12:45 of the second, but the Stars soon answered with another goal. Ritchie put the puck into an open net after Varlamov drifted to the side to contest a shot from Curtis McKenzie, who corralled the rebound and sent it back to Ritchie for his first goal.

Seguin got the Stars off to a great start, scoring their first two goals in the first period. He picked up a loose puck in the Dallas zone and rushed down the ice, letting loose a backhand from in close that beat Bernier.

Seguin scored again near the end of the opening period when he deflected in John Klingberg’s shot while positioned in front of the net.

NOTES: Officials waved off a Dallas goal on a coach’s challenge by Colorado at 11:34 of the second, determining after a replay review that the Stars’ Tyler Pitlick interfered with Varlamov by sliding into him. ... With two assists, Klingberg increased his season total to 24 points, tops among NHL defensemen. ... Stars C Martin Hanzal was placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury, retroactive to Tuesday. ... Stars LW Antoine Roussel was ruled out because of illness. ... Avalanche LW Gabriel Landeskog served the third of a four-game suspension for an illegal cross-check. ... The teams next meet Jan. 13 in Dallas, the last of five games this season between the Central Division foes.

UP NEXT

Stars: Return home to host Nashville on Tuesday night.

Avalanche: Finish a five-game homestand against Buffalo on Tuesday night.

MacKinnon scores in OT to give Avalanche 3-2 win over Jets

By BRENT W. NEW
Associated Press

DENVER (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche had their initial celebration in overtime cut short. Less than a minute later, MacKinnon got the party going again.

The 22-year-old scored a power-play goal 59 seconds into overtime after he had a goal waved off 30 seconds earlier, and the Avalanche beat the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 on Wednesday night.

MacKinnon reveled with his teammates when his shot hit a Jets player and went into the net 29 seconds into the extra period. But replay showed that Colorado’s Tyson Barrie was offside.

Thirty seconds later, he hit the back of the net again — and this one counted.

“We kept our composure well,” MacKinnon said. “We didn’t want to panic. Stuff happens.”

Alexander Kerfoot had a goal and an assist and Nikita Zadorov also scored for the Avalanche, who improved to 8-2-1 at home this season. MacKinnon also had an assist and finished November with 20 points — five goals and 15 assists — in 12 games.

Semyon Varlamov stopped 31 shots in his first game since Nov. 18 because of an illness.

“We know this is one of the best teams in the league at this point,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said of Winnipeg. “We needed to rise to the occasion and I thought our guys did that.”

Bryan Little and Josh Morrissey scored for the Jets, and Connor Hellebuyck made 23 saves. Winnipeg is 7-2-1 in its last 10 games.

Little put Winnipeg ahead 2-1 at 4:08 of the third. Nikolaj Ehlers beat the Colorado defense during 4-on-4 play and put the initial shot on Varlamov before Little tipped a rebound chance under the goalie’s glove.

Zadorov tied it for the Avalanche with 8:03 remaining, setting up MacKinnon’s winner in OT.

“I think, 2-1, you’d like to be able to close it out,” Jets coach Paul Maurice said. “It was a hard, grinding game. It just wasn’t a sharp game.”

Winnipeg opened the scoring 8:43 into the first period on Morrissey’s third goal of the season. The defender let loose just in front of the blue line to beat Varlamov for his first goal since Oct. 26.

The Jets came into the game 11-1-2 this season when scoring first.

The Avalanche tied it on Kerfoot’s power-play goal with 6:37 left in the opening period. During a strange sequence, MacKinnon put a shot on Hellebuyck from inside the circle and J.T. Compher tipped the rebound in front to Kerfoot. Kerfoot’s backhander hit the back of the net just as Hellebuyck shook off his mask and helmet after a strap came loose.

Hellebuyck quickly pleaded his case to officials but the goal stood. The rule states play should be stopped immediately if a goalie has lost his mask and/or helmet unless the opposing team has an impending scoring opportunity.

“I have a helmet on my forehead and it was about to fall off,” Hellebuyck said. “I don’t know, it’s a little dangerous to me.”

The Avalanche finished 2 of 5 on the power play, while Winnipeg was 0 for 4.

NOTES: Colorado D Anton Lindholm, who’d been out with a broken jaw since Nov. 4, celebrated his 23rd birthday with a return to the lineup. ... G Steve Mason suffered a concussion Saturday against the San Jose Sharks and was designated for injured reserve. ... The Avalanche assigned D Chris Bigras and D Andrei Mironov to AHL San Antonio and recalled Duncan Siemens, who was a healthy scratch Wednesday. ... LW Gabriel Landeskog began his four-game suspension for his crosscheck against Calgary on Saturday.

UP NEXT

Jets: Host Las Vegas on Friday night.

Avalanche: Host New Jersey on Friday night.

Teravainen, Andersen and MacKinnon named NHL Three Stars of the Week

NEW YORK – Carolina Hurricanes left wing Teuvo Teravainen, Toronto Maple Leafsgoaltender Frederik Andersen and ColoradoAvalanche center Nathan MacKinnon have been named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the week ending Nov. 19.

FIRST STAR – TEUVO TERAVAINEN, LW, CAROLINA HURRICANES

Teravainen led the NHL with five goals and 10 points in four games (5-5—10) to propel the Hurricanes (9-6-4, 22 points) to a trio of victories. He posted 3-1—4, his first career hat trick and second career four-point performance, in a 5-1 triumph over the Dallas Stars Nov. 13. Teravainen then registered two assists in a 6-4 loss to the New York Islanders Nov. 16 and one helper in a 3-1 win against the Buffalo Sabres Nov. 18. He capped the week with 2-1—3, his third three-point outing of the campaign, in a 4-2 victory over the Islanders Nov. 19. The 23-year-old Helsinki, Finland, native paces the Hurricanes with 8-11—19 in 19 contests this season, nearly half his career-high point total from 2016-17 (15-27—42 in 81 GP).

SECOND STAR – FREDERIK ANDERSEN, G, TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

Andersen was perfect in two starts, stopping all 75 shots he faced to help the Maple Leafs (14-7-0, 28 points) extend their winning streak to six games. He made a season-high 42 saves in a 1-0 overtime victory against the New Jersey Devils Nov. 16, followed by 33 stops in a 6-0 triumph over the Montreal Canadiens Nov. 18 – the second time he has earned consecutive shutouts in his career (also Jan. 23-25, 2017). The 28-year-old Herning, Denmark, native shares first place in the NHL with three shutouts and ranks second with 12 wins in 18 appearances this season, compiling a 2.88 goals-against average and .914 save percentage.

THIRD STAR – NATHAN MacKINNON, C, COLORADO AVALANCHE

MacKinnon collected 2-5—7 in three games to power the Avalanche (10-8-1, 21 points) to a pair of wins. He established career highs with four assists and five points in a 6-2 victory against the Washington Capitals Nov. 16. After being held off the scoresheet in a 5-2 loss to the Nashville Predators Nov. 18, MacKinnon bounced back with the primary assist on the tying goal in the final minute of regulation and then the overtime winner in a 4-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings Nov. 19. The 22-year-old Halifax, N.S., native leads the Avalanche with 7-15—22 in 19 outings this season, including 6‑11—17 in his past nine games.

MacKinnon's OT goal caps Avs' rally over Red Wings

By BOB DUFF
Associated Press

DETROIT (AP) — Jared Bednar thought his Colorado Avalanche got what they deserved Sunday night.

Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill didn’t disagree.

Nathan MacKinnon scored 2:55 into overtime and Colorado overcame a late two-goal deficit to beat Detroit 4-3.

Niklas Kronwall put Detroit ahead 3-1 with 8:53 left in the third period, but Nail Yakupov made it 3-2 on a power play with 6:15 remaining before Carl Soderberg tied it with Colorado’s goalie pulled in the final minute.

MacKinnon snapped a low shot to the short side past goalie Jimmy Howard for the winner.

Colorado had to rally, but it was the better team most of the night. It held a 24-14 edge in shots through two periods and finished with a 37-24 advantage, a measure that Avalanche coach Bednar felt was a true barometer of the game.

“I’ve liked the way our team’s kind of kept battling,” Bednar said. “Even in Nashville yesterday (a 5-2 loss), we were out of that game but we kept playing, not giving up.

“You’ve got to play the whole game and give yourself the best chance, and at least develop habits in games like that when you’re out. We kept playing yesterday and got two third-period goals. We kept playing today and got two more.”

Justin Abdelkader and Andreas Athanasiou also scored for the Wings. Erik Johnson had Colorado’s other goal. Howard had 33 saves.

The Wings took a 2-1 lead in the final minute of the second period when Athanasiou split the Colorado defense and beat goalie Jonathan Bernier with a forehand deke move.

They increased the advantage to 3-1 when Kronwall scored his first of the season on a power play.

About three minutes later, Yakupov got one back on a power play after defenseman Johnson made a strong play at the blue line to keep a Detroit clearing attempt in the zone.

“I was really happy when he stopped it so we had a chance to create our moment and make sure we had our shot,” Yakupov said. “It was kind of a good play around the net and I got a lucky bounce, so all I had to do was shoot it and that’s what I did.”

With Bernier on the bench in favor of an extra attacker, Soderberg redirected MacKinnon’s shot past Jimmy Howard at 19:14.

“The goal is going to get scored from some place around the net on a deflection or a tip, so you’ve got to have traffic,” Bednar said. “And that’s what Carl did.”

As unhappy as he was that his team let the game get away, Blashill wasn’t shocked by the outcome.

“We didn’t play good enough from the start, so we got in my opinion one more point than we deserved,” Blashill said. “I thought they outskated us the whole game.

“We were in position to steal the game. Eventually over the course of 60 minutes, it caught up to us and they were able to tie it.”

NOTES: Bernier stopped 21 shots. ... Detroit D Danny DeKeyser appeared in his first game since suffering a sprain and hairline fracture to his ankle on Oct. 10 in Dallas. ... The Avalanche completed their fifth set of back-to-back games this season. They are 1-4 in the second game.

UP NEXT

Avalanche: Return home to face Dallas on Wednesday night.

Red Wings: Continue their five-game homestand against Edmonton on Wednesday night.