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 The Ducks topped streaking Colorado 3-2 in overtime at Honda Center,
snapping the Avalanche's three-game surge and making their visions
of the playoffs just a bit blurrier.
"We're playing desperate hockey teams playing at their best, so it's
a good test," Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau said.
Anaheim right winger Corey Perry roofed a wrist shot after being
sprung for a breakaway 1:25 into overtime to seal the victory.
Right winger Jiri Sekac and center Rickard Rakell lit the lamp for
the Ducks in regulation.
Anaheim moved to a league-best 99 points while Colorado gained one
point to move six back of the final wild card in the West.
"We've shown a lot of character every game since this last stretch
over the past month and a half, two months where we know every night
is like Game 7 for us," Avalanche center Matt Duchene said. "It's
too bad we couldn't have gotten that one, but three out of four on
the road in back-to-back situations, that's not bad."
Right winger Jarome Iginla and center Ryan O'Reilly scored for the
Avalanche.
As in the Ducks' 2-1 win at Minnesota, this game was a goaltenders'
duel. Frederik Andersen got the start after spending the last four
game as a backup, stopping 22 of 24 shots.
Colorado's Semyon Varlamov had his personal six-game win streak
halted despite making 37 saves. It was the first time Varlamov
allowed more than two goals in his last seven outings, and the fifth
time he made 30 or more saves during that span.
Anaheim took the game's first lead 3:37 into the game when Sekac and
left winger Tomas Fleischmann executed an impromptu give-and-go play
in tight quarters below the goal line. Sekac pivoted to the net
front and banked the puck in off the back of Varlamov's pad. The
goal was Sekac's eighth of the season and his first since his
arrival from Montreal in a trade.
"I thought every time they were on the ice, that they were doing
something, that they were creating something," said Boudreau of the
Rakell line, which he thought was his team's best trio Friday.
Colorado drew even 5:28 into the third period. Duchene chased down a
dump-in in the corner and centered the puck for Iginla. Iginla
wristed the puck in with ease, finding surprisingly quiet ice on the
doorstep between defenseman Simon Despres and left winger Matt
Beleskey. The goal was Iginla's team-leading 24th.
"We adjusted really well to them," Avalanche coach Patrick Roy said.
"It kinds of reminds me of my days when you played in Boston where
you knew you were going to get peppered in the first period but
after that you knew you would have a chance to get back in the
game."
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The Avalanche pulled ahead at 7:19 with a short-handed goal from
O'Reilly. Defenseman Sami Vatanen failed to receive a D-to-D pass
cleanly at the center of the blue line, creating a turnover that led
to an O'Reilly breakaway. He finished by lifting a wrist shot past
Andersen for the 13th goal of his campaign.
"I think I've been lifting too much bench press in the gym, so my
hands were a little bit frozen there and it bounced over my stick,"
Vatanen said. "It was my bad, but we got the W."
Anaheim knotted the score 1:45 later. The puck bounced erratically
around the offensive zone until it settled onto the stick of Rakell
in the slot, where he fired home for his seventh goal of the season.
Vatanen keyed the sequence on the winning play, poke-checking
defenseman Brad Stuart from behind near the blue line and sending
the puck right to Perry, who darted in uncontested to bury the
game-winner. It was Perry's sixth career overtime goal, tying him
for the Ducks franchise record with center Ryan Getzlaf and retired
right winger Teemu Selanne.
NOTES: Anaheim D Sami Vatanen (lower body) returned to action after
a 15-game absence. He dressed in place of D Clayton Stoner and was
paired with D Cam Fowler. He played a team-high 22:51. ... Ducks RW
Tim Jackman (lower body) remained out but his recovery may be ahead
of schedule. He will likely be skating by himself during the team's
upcoming road trip. ... Anaheim RW Jiri Sekac was reinserted into
the lineup in place of scratched LW Emerson Etem. ... The Avalanche
continued to be without C/RW Nathan MacKinnon (foot), D Erik Johnson
(knee), C Joey Hishon (neck), RW Borna Rendulic (leg), LW Patrick
Bordeleau (knee), LW Jamie McGinn (back), D Ryan Wilson (shoulder)
and C Jesse Winchester (concussion). McGinn, Wilson, Winchester and
MacKinnon are unlikely to play again this season. Hishon and Johnson
may be nearing their respective returns.
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