The Avalanche left Canadian Tire Centre with a point Thursday night, but Ottawa still had the final say in a 4-3 overtime win.
Colorado erased a 2-0 deficit and forced extra time behind goals from Artturi Lehkonen, Parker Kelly and Gabriel Landeskog. Nazem Kadri, T.J. Hughes, Brock Nelson and Devon Toews each picked up assists as the Avs kept pushing after a rough opening period.
Special teams played a major role in the comeback. Colorado scored twice on the power play and went 5-for-5 on the penalty kill.
"Great," Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar said about Colorado's special teams and the way the Avs battled back from down 2-0. "[The penalty kill] kills them (the penalties) all and gets a [shorthanded goal].
The power play comes up big a couple times to get us back in the game [and] get us the lead. I liked our effort all the way around...
Pretty gutsy effort from our group."
Ottawa struck first at 7:11 of the opening period when Shane Pinto scored on a right-circle shot off the rush. The Senators stretched it to 2-0 at 13:13 of the first on a backhand from the right doorstep.
Colorado started chipping away late in the second. Lehkonen got the Avalanche on the board at 18:04 with a power-play one-timer from the slot, finishing a feed from Kadri for his 14th goal of the season.
Then came Kelly’s turn. While Colorado was shorthanded, he tied the game at 3:54 of the third period with a left-circle shot off the rush for his fourth goal of the season.
Ottawa answered again at 16:04 of the third, when Drake Batherson scored from the doorstep to knot it up and push the game to overtime.
Pinto ended it for the Senators just 2:08 into the extra period, scoring from the slot to seal the 4-3 result.
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Avalanche Suddenly Need Gavin Brindley For More Than Just Depth
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Brindley has already spent time with the Avalanche this season, appearing in five NHL games, and he has shown enough offensive touch in the AHL to earn another look. What changes now is the context: this is no longer just about having an extra body available, but about whether Colorado needs him to help cover meaningful minutes while MacKinnons status remains unsettled. [Read more 🡒]