Eurolanche

Oilers blow 3-goal lead, then edge Avs

The Colorado Avalanche's hopes of qualifying for the Stanley Cup Playoffs took a hit when they were unable to finish off a comeback against the Edmonton Oilers at Rexall Place on Wednesday.

The Avalanche (33-28-12) battled back from a three-goal deficit after 20 minutes to tie the game, but gave up a power-play goal midway through the third period and wound up with a 4-3 loss. It was Colorado's third consecutive defeat. They conclude a five-game road trip Thursday at the Vancouver Canucks.

"We are all disappointed with the start of that game," Avalanche coach Patrick Roy said. "I am proud with how the guys played afterwards, though. We had 44 shots on net and a lot of good chances. We did a lot of good things out there."

Ryan O'Reilly's goal 4:54 into the third period tied the game for Colorado, but center Derek Roy scored a power-play goal less than six minutes later to put the Oilers back on top. Roy was first to a loose puck that leaked behind Avalanche goaltender Reto Berra and nudged it into the net at 10:42 to restore Edmonton's lead. The goal came on the Oilers' lone power play of the game.

Martin Marincin, Jordan Eberle and Taylor Hall scored in the first period for the Oilers (21-40-13), who sent starting goaltender Semyon Varlamov to the bench less than halfway through the first period.

Oilers goaltender Ben Scrivens made 41 saves. Berra made 26 saves in relief for Colorado after Varlamov allowed three goals on seven shots.

"I think we let off the gas, which is not something we want to do in the future, but our line did a good job battling," Derek Roy said. "They have a lot of skill on their team, a lot of guys who can put the puck in the net. [Scrivens] did a good job tonight in the pipes for us. In the future we have to keep out foot on the gas and keep playing."

Jarome Iginla, Alex Tanguay and O'Reilly had goals for Colorado (33-28-12), which remained 10 points behind the Winnipeg Jets for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. Colorado has played one fewer game than the Jets.

"That's not the start we want to have in a game, it doesn't matter who we are playing," Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog said. "That's just not good enough. We were just losing battles in the first 10 minutes of the game and they ended up capitalizing on them. Scrivens made some big saves for them tonight. We believed all the way and we knew we could come back. We started playing the way that we can play. It's disappointing to lose, for sure."

Marincin scored his first NHL goal at 4:33 of the first period to give Edmonton a 1-0 lead. The defenseman took a pass from Andrew Miller in the slot and snapped a shot over Varlamov's shoulder. The assist gave Miller his first NHL point.

The Oilers' training staff cut the puck in half and awarded the pieces to Marincin and Miller.

"That's the first time I've ever seen that, I've never gotten half a puck before, but I'll take it," Miller said. "It was a good game. I thought we were skating well early and our line had the puck a lot early, which helps."

Eberle made it 2-0 at 5:53, getting to a rebound behind Varlamov, diving out and putting the puck into an open net. Edmonton went up 3-0 on Hall's first goal since Jan. 9. Hall was playing his third game since returning from a leg injury. He had missed 23 of 24 games before returning against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.

Hall found space along the wing and snapped a shot through Varlamov at 9:36, ending the goaltender's night.

"When you think you have a team down, it's never the case," Hall said. "For us, even though we're up three, we have to go for four or five and make sure that when teams come out for the second period they know the game is pretty much over."

Iginla scored on a power-play one-timer at 5:22 of the second period to cut the lead to 3-1. Tanguay cut the lead to 3-2 at 10:31, getting to a rebound at the side of the net and banging it past Scrivens.

O'Reilly tied the game following a turnover by Oilers defenseman Justin Schultz deep in the Edmonton zone. Schultz had his backhand pass intercepted by Tanguay, who cut to the net and slid the puck back across to O'Reilly for the easy tap-in.

"We got off to a good start and they battled back," Oilers coach Todd Nelson said. "Then in the third period, there were chances traded back and forth. Both goaltenders made big saves and it was nice to get that power-play goal. They kept on coming and Benny made some huge saves for us down the stretch."

Forward John Mitchell took a slashing penalty midway through the third period that gave Edmonton's its only power play of the game.

"We have to believe in ourselves," Patrick Roy said. "We are going to continue to play hard. Other than the start, that is the kind of hockey we want to be playing. This is a resilient group."

-- by Derek Van Diest for NHL.com --

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Actual Lineup

Colorado Avalanche lineup from this game