The Colorado Avalanche scored four times in the second period on their way to a 6-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers Tuesday night.
The Oilers opened the scoring 9:20 into the first when Milan Lucic deflected a Matt Benning point shot. It was Lucic’s first goal since Jan. 19, ending a 29-game drought. Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse made it 2-0 when his bad angle shot went in off the arm of Colorado netminder Semyon Varlamov.
“There’s a lot of people burned out from chasing, said head coach Ken Hitchcock.
“We’re going to have to play Stolz now. We’re going to see if he can last the game.
“We’ve got two games left, and we have to play as well as we can at home, and go to Calgary and play as well as we can there.”
Listen Below: Ken Hitchcock
The Avalanche had three straight power plays early in the second. Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon converted on the third one, weaving through the Oilers’ defence and roofing a shot on Oilers goaltender Mikko Koskinen. Exactly one minute later, Colorado’s Tyson Barrie beat Koskinen with a soft one from long range. Alexander Kerfoot added another one, giving the Avs three goals in 2:40. Later in the second, Colorado’s Colin Wilson scored on a backhand to make it 4-2.
When it came to whether their hopes for making the playoffs affected their play, Sam Gagner said they’re fighting for other matters now.
“There’s always opportunity in playing in this league. There’s always a a chance to prove something. for our group, there’s a lot of guys in that boat and i think that has to be our mindset, he said.
“We’ve got a group in here that really cares about each other, we gotta find a way to make sure we’re playing hard for each other and doing the best we can doing the right things.”
Listen Below: Sam Gagner
Kerfoot added another 7:30 into the third. The goal was originally waved off for goalie interference as he jammed at the puck and hit Koskinen’s pad. The Avalanche challenged, and after video review, it was ruled the puck was over the line without any goalie interference. Avalanche forward Sven Andrighetto added one more late in the third.
The Oilers (34-37-9) will host San Jose on Thursday in their final home game of the season.