Pittsburgh Penguins defeat Colorado Avalanche 3-2
Tyler Kennedy recorded the game-winning goal in overtime to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 3-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday night.
Joe Vitale and Jordan Staal each also notched a goal for Pittsburgh, who have lost four of their last five games. Meanwhile, Marc-Andre Fleury finished with 29 saves for the victors.
Cameron Gaunce and Chris Stewart both found the net for Colorado, who have dropped nine consecutive contests. Peter Budaj turned away 33 shots as the Avalanche got a point for the first time during the slide, as the last eight losses all came in regulation
time.
Colorado Coach Joe Sacco was proud of the way his team played despite the result. He said, “We don’t feel sorry for ourselves. No one else certainly will. But I think if we play like that, more often than not, we’ll certainly collect our share of wins here
down the stretch. I thought that there were chances on both sides, there was good goaltending on both sides. So, a fairly good game.”
Vitale put the Penguins on the board first for a 1-0 lead with two and a half minutes left in the opening stanza, as he rifled a shot from the slot into the left corner of the net for his first goal in the National Hockey League (NHL).
Stewart then pulled the game even at 1-1 almost three and half minutes into the middle frame. The goal came when David Jones slipped a pass in front of the net for Stewart, who swiped it home for his 13th goal of the year.
Gaunce gave the Avalanche a 2-1 lead with nearly five and a half minutes remaining in the second period, as he fired a simple shot from the right point, which deflected off a Pittsburgh defenseman and went in for his first NHL goal.
An excited Gaunce said after the game, "I tried a one-timer before that and missed. I just wanted to get it though. There was a good screen in the crease and it went in."
However, the Penguins tied the game again at 2-2 just 32 seconds later, when a streaking Staal ripped a wrist shot from the right circle into the back of the net.
In overtime, Kevin Porter was whistled for tripping and Pittsburgh went into the power play. Kennedy chipped a pass from the low left circle to the top of the circle where Alex Goligoski swept a one-timer on net. It was saved, but the rebound popped back
to Kennedy, who jammed it home to seal the win at 3-2 with 50 seconds left in overtime.
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