Colorado Avalanche snap two-game skid by overcoming Sabres 4-3
David Jones scored on a power-play with 43 seconds to play in overtime, as the Colorado Avalanche held on for a 4-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres to snap a two-game skid, at the Pepsi Center on Tuesday night.
Ryan O’Reilly and Matt Duchene each scored a goal for Colorado. Daniel Winnik also had a goal and an assist for Colorado, who snapped a four-game losing streak on home ice. Peter Budaj stopped 37 shots to get his first victory since 27
November.
Thomas Vanek, Jochen Hecht and Steve Montador each scored a goal for the Sabres, who were looking for their first three-game winning streak of the season. Ryan Miller made 30 saves in the loss.
Colorado drew first blood and took a 1-0 lead in the 15th minute of the first period. Winnik received a pass from T.J. Galiardi and beat Miller with a wrist shot from the right circle. The Avalanche defenceman Ryan O'Byrne got a double-minor for
high-sticking 33 seconds later, and Buffalo took advantage of it. Vanek was there on the doorstep of the net. He took a pass from Drew Stafford and tapped the puck home to tie the game at 1-1.
O'Reilly restored the Avalanche’s lead at 2-1 with a short-handed goal on the penalty kill in the 17th minute of the second period. Winnik sent a pass across the crease to O’Reilly, who forced a Sabres turnover and slapped in a shot. The Sabres
again tied the game at 2-2 in the fifth minute of the final period, when Mike Weber carried the puck into Colorado zone and passed to Vanek, who sent the puck in across the net with a snap shot. Hecht rushed there and tipped the puck home.
Montador gave Buffalo their first lead at 3-2 in the sixth minute of the third period, when he snapped a shot through Avalanche defenseman’s legs. The Avalanche responded just 31 seconds later on a tally by Duchene. He got the loose puck on a rebound in
front of the net, and easily chipped the puck home to tie the game at 3-3. That was how things stayed until the end of regulation time, and the game went into overtime.
“You catch some breaks, which was good,” Avalanche coach Joe Sacco said.
In over time, Tomas Fleischmann received a pass from defenceman Ryan Wilson and brought the puck into Buffalo zone. He then slipped it past a sliding Sabres defenceman to Jones, who one-timed it behind Miller and gave Colorado a decisive 4-3 lead over the
Sabres.
“The chances are there, we had that open net, we had a chance in overtime,” Luke Adam said. “I mean, we just have to capitalise on our chances.”
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