Colorado outlasted the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 after another marathon shootout on Friday, improving to 6-0 at home to start the season.
It took eight shootout rounds to decide the outcome of Friday’s game — Avalanche winger Chris Stewart converted before Chicago’s Dustin Byfuglien missed to end the game.
Colorado (12-3-2) were on the receiving end of a 4-3 loss to Chicago (8-5-2) on Oct. 10 in a game that required nine shootout rounds.
Colorado goaltender Craig Anderson finished with 29 saves and Ryan O’Reilly netted two goals to help pull the NHL-leading Avalanche out of an early 2-0 deficit.
“We kept battling out there,” O’Reilly told reporters. “It seems like we like to play from being down by two. It worked out well.”
Chicago got off to a fast start with goals from Byfuglien and Duncan Keith in the first 10 minutes. O’Reilly got his team on the board with a backhand score eight minutes later.
David Jones tied the game at 7:43 into the second and O’Reilly added his second to give Colorado the lead a minute later.
Blackhawks winger Andrew Ladd forced overtime with a wrister at 16:40 in the second. There was no further scoring in the third period or overtime.
Antti Niemi recorded 19 saves for the Hawks, while Anderson got the best of his former team after spent the first few years of his career as a backup in Chicago.
Colorado’s O’Reilly, 18, was a second-round selection in this year’s draft and is tied for second on the team in points.
“What I like about his game — this guy does so many little things that a lot of people probably don’t notice,” Colorado coach Joe Sacco said. “I’m pretty impressed by his ability to think the game out there.”
The Avalanche have made strong turnaround from last year when they finished last in the Western Conference.
DEVILS 2, ISLANDERS 1
At Newark, New Jersey, Yann Danis made 23 saves and stopped four in-close attempts in the third period against his former Islanders teammates to help New Jersey beat New York.
Brian Rolston scored the winner on a power play and defenseman Cory Murphy added his first goal as a Devil. New Jersey has won 10 of its last 12 games.
Frans Nielsen scored for New York and Martin Biron made 29 saves. The Islanders have dropped two straight after winning four in a row.
CAPITALS 4, PANTHERS 1
At Sunrise, Florida, Jose Theodore stopped 28 shots and Brian Pothier had a goal and two assists as Washington — playing without injured star Alex Ovechkin for the second straight game — beat Florida to end a three-game losing streak.
FLYERS 5, SABRES 2
At Buffalo, New York, Daniel Carcillo scored twice and Ray Emery made 28 saves to lead Philadelphia to its fifth straight victory over Buffalo. Chris Pronger had a goal and assist, and James van Riemsdyk and Darroll Powe also scored.
MAPLE LEAFS 3, HURRICANES 2
At Raleigh, North Carolina, Jason Blake scored on a power play with 8:24 left and Jonas Gustavsson made 34 saves in Toronto’s second win in 14 games this season.
John Mitchell and Nikolai Kulemin also scored for Toronto.
Brandon Sutter and Sergei Samsonov scored for Carolina.
STARS 2, CANUCKS 1
At Dallas, Brad Richards scored midway through the second period and Brenden Morrow added a third-period power-play goal as Dallas held off Vancouver despite a 45-save performance by Canucks rookie Cory Schneider.
RSS