Avs hold off Jackets, end losing streak
The official game recap Colorado Avalanche vs Columbus Blue Jackets.The Colorado Avalanche ended a four-game losing streak Tuesday with a 5-3 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Pepsi Center.
The Avalanche were 0-1-3 in their previous four games.
Nathan MacKinnon secured the win with a power-play goal, Colorado's third of the game, by redirecting Andre Benoit's pass into the net with 1:03 remaining.
Gabriel Landeskog finished a tic-tac-toe passing play with Paul Stastny and MacKinnon for a power-play goal at 8:10 of the third period to make it 4-2, but the Blue Jackets closed within a goal 37 seconds later.
Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov made a save against RJ Umberger and thought he had the puck covered, but Nick Foligno dug it out, circled behind the net and poked it inside the opposite post at 8:47.
Colorado's newly constructed line of Jamie McGinn, Matt Duchene and Ryan O'Reilly combined for two goals and three assists in a 2:38 span of the second period when it took a 3-2 lead.
McGinn, with his second goal in the past 11 games, tied the game at 12:04. Duchene took a shot from between the faceoff circles and McGinn backhanded the rebound past goalie Curtis McElhinney.
The Avalanche went on a power play shortly after when Johnson elbowed Brad Malone. O'Reilly converted at 14:42 by moving to the front of the net and banking the puck off McElhinney after taking a pass from Duchene.
The Blue Jackets had controlled play in the Avalanche end for a long stretch and went ahead 2-1 at 8:34 of the second on a goal from Boone Jenner, who put in a rebound off a shot from Jack Johnson.
The Blue Jackets outshot the Avalanche 14-5 in the period and 26-13 through two.
Columbus' Ryan Johansen scored his team-leading 16th goal 4:13 into the game after Foligno skated untouched from the right corner to the front of the net for a shot. Varlamov made the save, but Johansen followed and knocked in the rebound.
The Avalanche tied the game on a goal by defenseman Jan Hejda after a Blue Jackets turnover. Hejda took a shot from the left point with McGinn in front and the puck slid by a screened McElhinney at 6:33. It was Hejda's first goal in 11 games.
Columbus failed to capitalize on a power play in each period. The Blue Jackets have gone 16 power plays in a row without a goal and are 1-for-24 in a seven-game stretch.
-- by Rick Sadowski for NHL.com --
Eurolanche.com, Worldwide, eurolanche@eurolanche.com
01/01/2014 - 05:00
