Oilers 6, Avalanche 2: Taylor Hall recorded his fourth career hat trick and added an assist while Ryan Smyth set up three tallies as host Edmonton rolled past Colorado.
Ales Hemsky, David Perron, Mark Arcobello and Jordan Eberle each registered a goal and an assist for the Oilers, who posted their sixth win in nine games. Sam Gagner also scored and Devan Dubnyk turned aside 33 shots as Edmonton defeated the Avalanche for the fifth time in six meetings since the start of last season.
Defenseman Nick Holden and PA Parenteau tallied for Colorado, which suffered just its second loss in seven contests. Semyon Varlamov was torched for all eight goals on 28 shots.
Hall opened the scoring at 3:44 of the first period, chasing down a loose puck in the offensive zone and sliding it between Varlamov's pads on a short breakaway. Hall struck again during a 5-on-3 power play at 17:42 with a one-timer from the right faceoff circle, and Hemsky converted a pass from Smyth from alone in front 15 seconds later for another man-advantage goal and a 3-0 lead.
Colorado battled back in the second as Holden and Parenteau tallied 5:08 apart, but Perron stalled the comeback attempt by beating Varlamov from the right circle during a 2-on-1 rush with 7:54 left in the session. Arcobello, Eberle and Gagner added third-period goals before Hall completed his four-point performance with 10.8 seconds remaining.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Edmonton has outscored Colorado 21-3 over the last 10 periods played between the teams. ... Avalanche D Jan Hejda suffered a knee injury midway through the first period and did not return. ... Perron has collected four goals and two assists during his four-game point streak. Eight of his 12 tallies this season have come in his last nine contests.
Colorado | Edmonton | |
Nick Holden 1 | Points | Taylor Hall 4 |
Nick Holden 1 | Goals | Taylor Hall 3 |
Matt Duchene 1 | Assists | Ryan Smyth 3 |
N/A | Power Play Goals | Taylor Hall 2 |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Semyon Varlamov .714 | Save Percentage | Devan Dubnyk .943 |
Semyon Varlamov 20 | Saves | Devan Dubnyk 33 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
Colorado | 35 | 2 | 0-6 | 4-7 | 23 | 39 |
Edmonton | 28 | 8 | 3-7 | 6-6 | 21 | 31 |