Tanguay plays hero as Avalanche edge Maple Leafs in shootout
Alex Tanguay scored in regulation and had the decisive goal in the shootout, lifting the Colorado Avalanche to a 4-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night.
Matt Duchene also scored in regulation and the shootout for the Avalanche, which ended a three-game skid.
Colorado lost a late lead but made up for it in the shootout. All three shooters scored, starting with Nathan MacKinnon.
Reto Berra had 33 saves through overtime in his first start in six games.
Tyler Bozak scored in regulation and had Toronto's only goal in the shootout. Phil Kessel and Richard Panik also scored for the Maple Leafs, who got a scare when teammate Daniel Winnik hit his head on the ice 45 seconds into the game.
Winnik collided with Avalanche defenseman Jan Hejda near the Colorado blue line. He fell awkwardly on the right side of his head and flipped onto his front. He lay motionless while trainers from both teams secured him on a backboard and took him off the ice.
The team reported on Twitter that Winnik was ''alert and moving all of his extremities'' while being examined by the team doctor. The team said Winnik was not transported to the hospital but he did not return.
Duchene gave Colorado a 3-2 lead with a wraparound goal at 11:45 of the third. Toronto pulled goalie Jonathan Bernier with 1:29 left and Panik scored 16 seconds later to send it to overtime.
Bernier finished with 31 saves.
Winnik's injury came immediately after Holden scored 31 seconds into the game to give the Avalanche an early lead for the second straight game.
Kessel tied it with his seventh of the season when he batted a puck out of the air and past Berra with 3:40 left in the period.
Bozak gave Toronto the lead when he scored a power-play goal at 4:43 of the second. Colorado had killed off 29 consecutive penalties before Bozak's tally.
Tanguay responded a minute later when he got a stretch pass from Zach Redmond behind the Maple Leafs defense and beat Bernier on a breakaway.
The Maple Leafs controlled play in the final minutes of the second. They nearly scored when the puck under Berra and stopped in the crease but was lost under a pile of bodies.
Toronto then held the puck in Colorado's zone for nearly two minutes but couldn't score.
Toronto lost defenseman Jake Gardiner later in the first when he took a puck off his right leg and missed the rest of the game. Team officials said he suffered a lower body injury.
NOTES: The NHL suspended Toronto RW Carter Ashton for 20 games without pay on Thursday after failing a drug test. Based on his salary, Ashton will forfeit $169,185. ... Avalanche D Brad Stuart (hamstring) will miss at least two weeks. ... Maple Leafs D Morgan Rielly was scratched. ... Colorado RW Daniel Briere was a healthy scratch for the fifth straight game.
