Denver, CO (SportsNetwork.com) – Matt Duchene picked up the deciding goal
early in the third period and added an assist, as Colorado escaped with a 4-3
victory over Dallas at Pepsi Center.
Erik Johnson, John Mitchell and Nathan MacKinnon lit the lamp in the second
period for the Avalanche, who have won three in a row and seven of 10 overall.
Semyon Varlamov snagged the win thanks to a 37-save performance.
Brett Ritchie, Colton Sceviour and Ales Hemsky scored for the Stars, losers of
four straight since winning four in a row. Kari Lehtonen stopped 26 shots in
defeat.
On the opening shift of the third, Duchene used his body as a shield to ward
off a Stars defender, circled behind the Dallas net and lifted a wrister from
the left circle to give the hosts a 4-2 edge.
Hemsky brought his club back to a goal at 2:38, but Colorado’s defense and
Varlamov combined to hold that margin.
Varlamov stoned Jason Spezza from the right side with less than 30 seconds to
go, and when Alex Tanguay was booked for hooking, the Stars skated 6-on-4 in
the final 18 ticks.
The visitors failed to squeeze off a quality chance until the buzzer.
Just 27 seconds into the contest, a turnaround shot from between the circles
by Tyler Seguin nipped Ritchie and beat Varlamov. Sceviour doubled the Dallas
edge on a backhander from the slot at 9:24.
Johnson finally provided some offense for the hosts at 7:18 of the second
period with a low shot from the right circle and Mitchell evened things at
8:43 on a rocket from the left point.
MacKinnon made it 3-2 when he crashed the crease and managed to dislodge his
own rebound which sat under Lehtonen so that it slid over the goal line with
nine seconds left before intermission.
Game Notes
Colorado improved to 10-0-0 this season when scoring four-or-more times in
games not decided by shootouts … Dallas failed to capitalize on any of its
six power-play chances … The Avalanche kick off a five-game road swing in
Washington on Monday, and the Stars begin a three-game homestand on Tuesday by
welcoming Ottawa.
