Parayko's gem lifts Blues over Avalanche in OT

[December 01, 2018]  Colton Parayko scored a gorgeous goal with 3:26 left in overtime, and the St. Louis Blues overcame the loss of Alexander Steen to beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 in Denver on Friday night.

Parayko got the game-winner when he beat Colorado defenseman Samuel Girard and managed to knock the puck with a one-handed backhander past Semyon Varlamov.

Steen scored before leaving with an injury, Vladimir Tarasenko also had a goal and Joel Edmundson had two assists. Jake Allen had 27 saves for St. Louis.

Mikko Rantanen and Nikita Zadorov scored for Colorado, which had its six-game winning streak snapped. Varlamov stopped 34 shots.

The Avalanche played with only five defensemen for most of the game after Erik Johnson was given a game misconduct 3:38 into the second period for an elbow to Steen's head. Johnson hit him moments after Steen took a shot, and a minor brawl converged at the Colorado net.

When order was restored, Johnson received a five-minute major for elbowing and was tossed. Steen left the game with an upper-body injury and did not return.

Tarasenko got St. Louis on the board first with his ninth goal, just eight seconds after the Blues killed off Edmundson's slashing minor. Edmundson came out of the box and fed Tarasenko moving into the Colorado zone, and his shot trickled through Varlamov's legs at 4:57 of the first.

Blues defenseman Colton Parayko (55) celebrates his overtime winning goal against the Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

With St. Louis on a power play late in the first, Steen knocked down a clearing attempt and beat Varlamov over his shoulder to make it 2-0 at 19:29. It was his sixth of the season.

Zadorov scored 1:08 into the second period when he started off for a line change but turned around as the puck came to him. His low shot beat Allen for his third goal of the season.

Oskar Sundqvist was awarded a penalty shot when Patrik Nemeth hooked him on a breakaway at 12:37 of the second period. Sundqvist had the puck slip off his stick as he went to a take a forehand shot.

The Avalanche eventually tied it on the power play 2:13 into the third period. Rantanen was on the right side when Edmundson pulled a rebound off the goal line, but the loose puck went off Allen's pad, and Rantanen buried it in the gaping net.

--Field Level Media

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