Avs top 'Canes in OT to snap 5-game skid
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Mikko Rantanen scored with 36.4 seconds left in overtime as the Colorado Avalanche snapped their five-game losing streak with a 2-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night.
Colorado (16-38-2) improved to 6-1 this season in overtime despite having the worst overall record in the NHL.
Rantanen scored his 12th of the season, taking a feed on a 2-on-1 rush from Matt Duchene, beating Hurricanes goaltender Cam Ward with a one-timer and snapping the Avalanche's six-game skid at PNC Arena dating to February 2009.
Defenseman Tyson Barrie opened the scoring with his fourth of the season for the Avalanche before Hurricanes forward Jeff Skinner scored his team-leading 19th. Both regulation goals came in the first period.
The Hurricanes (24-23-7), opening a five-game homestand, are seven points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and are 16-3-2 in their last 21 home games, but couldn't solve Colorado coming out the NHL's mandatory five-day break, in which teams are now 3-9-1.
Colorado won for just the third time in the last 17 games.
Colorado scored the first goal for just the 18th time this season with Barrie, who came into the game an NHL-worst minus-26, beating Ward with 6:12 left in a first period dominated by the Avalanche. John Mitchell's assist was his first in 48 games dating to last season. Jarome Iginla also picked up an assist on the play, just his ninth this season.
But Carolina was able to even the score with less than minute left in the opening period with Skinner scoring from the bottom of the left circle as his sharp angle shot deflected off the stick of Colorado defenseman Nikita Zadorov and past Calvin Pickard, who stopped 28 shots.
Ward stopped 35 in the losing effort.
NOTES: Carolina has played the fewest games in the NHL at 55. ... After starting the season 9-9, Colorado has had six different losing streaks of four games or more. ... Hurricanes G Cam Ward is now three starts shy of 600. ... Carolina has just 106 man-games lost this season. ... Colorado RW Jarome Iginla moved within 10 games played of 13th best all-time, a spot currently held by Johnny Bucyk at 1,540. ... Iginla is also gunning for his 12th season of playing in all games -- the best mark in NHL history. ... Avalanche C Matt Duchene came into the game with the best faceoff percentage (62.5 percent) in the league.