Avalanche 3, Senators 1: Semyon Varlamov finished with 38 saves and came within six seconds of recording his 13th career shutout as Colorado began its Canadian road trip with a victory.
John Mitchell and defensemen Andre Benoit and Nick Holden scored for the Avalanche, who improved to 21-9-2 on the road and 19-7-1 against Eastern Conference opponents. Matt Duchene added two assists.
Ottawa unleashed 20 shots in the second period, but it was former Senator Benoit who opened the scoring on a rush at 15:49. Benoit accepted a feed from Patrick Bordeleau and fired a shot in the slot over Robin Lehner, who stopped 19 shots after turning aside 43 on Saturday.
Holden banged home a cross-crease pass from Jamie McGinn with Ottawa forward Chris Neil serving a delay of game penalty 3:10 into the third period. Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog found Mitchell in front from behind the net to make it 3-0 with 2:58 remaining.
Mika Zibanejad’s one-timer from the point off a turnover spoiled Varlamovâ??s shutout bid on the final shot of the contest. Ottawa is winless in its last three games (0-1-2) and remains seven points behind the New York Rangers for the final wild card playoff spot in the East.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Ottawa G Craig Anderson missed a second game due to a shoulder injury he suffered last Monday. â? Mitchell has five points (three goals, two assists) in his last four games. â? Colorado visits Montreal on Tuesday and Winnipeg on Wednesday to complete its three-game Canadian road swing.
