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 But they needed just 10 minutes and some change to gain traction
and come away with an exciting win Wednesday night.
Defenseman Tyson Barrie scored 33 seconds into overtime as Colorado
rallied late to beat the Ottawa Senators 4-3.
Center Paul Stastny had a goal and two assists and left winger
Gabriel Landeskog had three assists for the Avalanche.
"A character win for us," Avalanche coach Patrick Roy said. "We
don't want to see a loss like we would have had. This was a big game
for us."
Left winger Clarke MacArthur had a goal and an assist and defenseman
Erik Karlsson had two assists for the Senators, whose four-game
winning streak was stopped.
The Avalanche looked destined for their second straight home loss
before Stastny tied it with 2:20 left. He then fed Barrie from
behind the net in overtime, and the defenseman beat goaltender Craig
Anderson to give Colorado the win.
"I called to Paul behind the net and I just tried to get open," said
Barrie, who netted his second career overtime goal. "With the type
of passer Paul is, I knew he was going to find me. It was just a
matter of trying to beat the goalie. I got it and was trying to go
high blocker. I thought I saw some room on the right side and tried
to put it there and fortunately it went in.
"It's awesome. It's pretty exciting to see the guys come off the
bench. That's a huge two points for us."
Anderson stopped 27 shots and centers Jason Spezza and Kyle Turris
scored for Ottawa.
"We lost our momentum with seven or eight minutes to go," Anderson
said. "They came at us hard. They were a late team that made a push
at the end. We knew it was coming and they won the game."
It cost the Senators a chance at their third straight road win.
"After the last timeout we were paralyzed. It didn't matter who we
put on the ice we couldn't seem to find a way to make a play to get
it out," Senators coach Paul MacLean said. "For the most part, after
the first five and the last five it was a pretty good road game."
Defenseman Jan Hejda and left winger Jamie McGinn also scored for
Colorado and goaltender Semyon Varlamov had 29 saves.
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The Senators trailed 2-1 in the second but got the advantage after
two Colorado penalties in a span of 1:08. Spezza, back after missing
four games with a hip flexor injury, tied it on the 5-on-3 with his
12th of the season.
The Avalanche killed off the second penalty, but before Hejda could
get into the action, Turris scored on a one-timer 1:25 after
Spezza's goal.
"There was a tough penalty that put them on a 5-on-3. That happens,"
Hejda said. "That was a tough break for us."
Colorado came out strong, scoring two goals on its first four shots
to take a 2-0 lead in the first five minutes.
McGinn got the first one when he redirected a pass from defenseman
Erik Johnson during a power play. It was McGinn's 10th of the
season.
Hejda's blast from the point 2:35 later beat Anderson on the short
side and put Ottawa in an early hole.
The Senators responded by outshooting Colorado 9-3 the rest of the
first period. They cut the lead in half when they converted
defenseman Andre Benoit's turnover into a MacArthur's 15th goal of
the season with 4:58 left in the frame.
"I think we got what we deserved. They played very good to start the
game and very good to end the game. In between we were in control,"
MacLean said. "You come on the road and get a point after being down
2-0 in the first five minutes, I think we earned the point."
NOTES: Colorado C Ryan O'Reilly was scratched due to a shoulder
injury suffered in the third period of the Avalanche's 4-3 loss to
the Calgary Flames on Monday. Colorado recalled LW David Van der
Gulik from AHL Lake Erie. ... Avalanche D Nate Guenin missed his
second consecutive game because of an ankle injury. He signed a
two-year, $1.6 million extension through the 2015-16 season earlier
in the week. ... Ottawa RW Chris Neil missed his third straight game
with a hamstring injury. ... Avalanche LW Gabriel Landeskog extended
his points streak to eight games.
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