Landeskog lifts Avs to 3-2 OT win over Ducks

[March 13, 2012]  DENVER (AP) -- Gabriel Landeskog scored at 1:52 of overtime, Semyon Varlamov stopped 38 shots and the Colorado Avalanche beat the banged-up Anaheim Ducks 3-2 on Monday night to remain in the thick of a tightly congested Western Conference playoff chase.

Jamie McGinn and Kevin Porter also scored for the surging Avalanche, who have won four of five to move into the eighth and final playoff spot.

Francois Beauchemin and Teemu Selanne had the goals for the Ducks, a team that was rolling along until a recent slide. Anaheim has dropped six of eight to tumble even further out of the postseason picture.

The winning goal was set up by a turnover in the Ducks end. Matt Hunwick stole the puck and passed it to Landeskog, who knocked it by Jonas Hiller as the Avalanche improved to 14-4 this season in games that go beyond regulation.

Porter scored with 6:47 remaining when he stuck out his stick and redirected Jan Hejda's slap shot past Hiller for his first goal since Dec. 29.

It looked as if that might just hold up, given the way Varlamov was playing in net.

But the Ducks had a quick response, with Selanne sending a shot into the corner of the net on a power play. With that score, Selanne moved ahead of childhood idol Jari Kurri for 19th place on the NHL scoring list with 1,399 points.

Colorado nearly had a goal late in regulation when Ryan O'Reilly broke free at the blue line and skated in on Hiller. But the Anaheim goalie turned in a nifty glove save, tumbling back after catching it.

The officials took a quick look at the replay to see if his glove -- with the puck in it -- had crossed the goal line.

It didn't, sending the game into overtime.

Anaheim tied it at 1 in the waning seconds of the second period when Beauchemin stuck out his stick and tipped the puck past Varlamov. It was the defenseman's first goal since Jan. 18.

Up until then, Varlamov was turning back everything sent his way, including a backhanded shot from Selanne in which the young Russian goaltender slid over just in time.

McGinn gave the Avalanche the lead midway through the opening period, sending a wrist shot between the legs of a Ducks defenseman and by a screened Hiller.

The gritty forward has played well since being acquired from the San Jose Sharks at the trade deadline. McGinn now has five goals and two assists in seven games wearing the burgundy and blue sweater.

After McGinn's goal, the goalies stole the show for the rest of the period.

Varlamov made a save with his right pad on Kyle Palmieri's wraparound shot from behind the goal. Not to be outdone, Hiller stonewalled Steve Downie at the doorstep of the goal.

Lately, Hiller has been logging plenty of time in the net. This was his club-record 29th straight start. The old mark of 23 was set by Guy Hebert and tied by Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who's now with Colorado.

Ducks star Corey Perry was sidelined with a sore right shoulder, ending his string of 272 straight games. The right winger was dinged up in Dallas on Saturday when he slid into the boards.

The last time Perry sat out was January 2009 when he served a four-game suspension for elbowing Philadelphia's Claude Giroux. Perry hadn't missed a game with an injury since 2008, when he sat out 12 games late in the season with a lacerated right quadriceps tendon.

Despite feeling under the weather, Landeskog suited up and worked his way into the franchise record book. With a slap shot in the second period, the Swedish player broke the team mark for most shots by a rookie in a season. Landeskog moved past former Quebec Nordiques star Peter Stastny, who had 232 shots in 1980-81.

NOTES: Avs F Chuck Kobasew (back) participated in the morning practice. He will accompany the squad on their three-game road swing. ... Colorado raised more than $75,000 at the team's annual charity brunch Sunday. ... Anaheim had two players reach milestones; Saku Koivu played in his 1,000th game and captain Ryan Getzlaf in his 500th. Koivu is just the fifth Finnish-born player to reach that milestone. ... Ducks F Nick Bonino (lower body) and D Luca Sbisa (upper body) were scratches.

[Associated Press; By PAT GRAHAM]

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