Briere's OT goal lifts Avalanche over Coyotes
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) The bounces and the breaks that went against the Colorado Avalanche in the first period went their way late in a comeback victory over the Arizona Coyotes.
Daniel Briere scored 3:16 into overtime, and the Avalanche rallied from three goals down to beat the Coyotes 4-3 on Tuesday night.
Briere's pass across the goal area hit the stick of the Coyotes' Martin Hanzal, and the puck was redirected past goalie Mike Smith. That gave Colorado its fourth win in five games.
''They don't ask how, just how many, they say,'' Briere said. ''Got a lucky break on this one. I'll definitely take it.
''It's definitely a lucky bounce, but they had their bounces in the first period. Usually those things even up in the course of a game.''
Colorado won after a goalie change in the first period. Arizona absorbed another late-game home loss.
The Avalanche tied it 3-3 when Matt Duchene's pass from behind the net went off the stick of Coyotes forward Lauri Korpikoski and squeezed past Smith at 4:05 of the third period.
Arizona had everything going its way early. A three-goal barrage in the first 11 minutes put the Coyotes ahead big. But the Avalanche rallied behind left wing Gabriel Landeskog's two goals and substitute goalie Calvin Pickard, who finished with 25 saves and no goals allowed.
The third Coyotes goal, a twisting wrist shot by Tobias Rieder off a rush at 10:53 of the first period, marked a quick end to goalie Reto Berra's night.
Berra was also pulled in the first period of Colorado's previous game, a 4-3 home win over Carolina on Saturday. The Avalanche rallied from a pair of two-goal deficits with Pickard in goal.
''He was again perfect,'' Avalanche coach Patrick Roy said. ''You have to give it to him. He battles out there and he competes and he deserves a lot of credit for his play right now.''
Arizona took the lead when Michael Stone's shot glanced off teammate Antoine Vermette's stick and into the net at 3:36 of the first. The teams were skating 4-on-4 at the time.
Stone made it 2-0 at 10:20 when his shot appeared to go off the body of defenseman Nick Holden and past Berra's extended glove. Stone, a defenseman, tied his career high for points in a game with his first multipoint game of the season.
Just 33 seconds later, Rieder scored.
Landeskog tipped in his own rebound with a backhander at 5:49 of the second period to make it 3-1, but the Coyotes carried the two-goal lead into the third.
''It's been a long time coming. I've been dry lately,'' Landeskog said. ''It felt good to put a couple in the back of the net.''
The Avalanche got within 3-2 when Landeskog wedged in between defenders in front of the net and put in a deflected shot from Nathan MacKinnon at 1:36.
''One guy (Landeskog) skates in between two of ours and gets the rebound,'' Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said. ''Then the next two are off our sticks and in. What are you going to do?''
Smith made 30 saves, including a short-handed shot from Marc-Andre Cliche at 17:06 of the second period.
Linemates Hanzal and Rob Klinkhammer returned to the lineup for the Coyotes. Hanzal played for the first time since Nov. 16, having missed four games due to a lower body injury.
Klinkhammer was back after sitting out two straight and three of four.
NOTES: Avalanche forward Alex Tanguay missed his second straight game due to a facial fracture. ... Semyon Varlamov, the Avs' No. 1 goalie, was unavailable due to a groin injury. ... Jarome Iginla earned an assist on each of Landeskog's goals, giving him 1,181 career points, 48th on the NHL career list and third among active players. ... Colorado D Erik Johnson left the game at 1:11 of overtime, leveled by a hard check from Hanzal. ... Coyotes C Kyle Chipchura was a healthy scratch after playing four consecutive games. ... Arizona C Shane Doan moved into sole possession of 48th place in career NHL games played at 1,338. ... The Coyotes are 0-for-20 on power plays in their last five home games, including 0-for-1 on Tuesday.
