Avalanche 5, Sabres 3
Matt Duchene scored one goal and set up two others as host Colorado completed a sweep of the two-game season series.
Marc-Andre Cliche, John Mitchell and defensemen Tyson Barrie and Brad Stuart also tallied for the Avalanche, who climbed within eight points of Winnipeg for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference with seven games remaining. Jarome Iginla collected three assists and Semyon Varlamov made 35 saves for Colorado, which outscored Buffalo 10-4 in the two meetings.
Andrej Meszaros netted a pair of goals and fellow blue-liner Rasmus Ristolainen recorded a tally and an assist for the Sabres, who suffered their fifth straight defeat. Anders Lindback allowed two goals on 12 shots in one period before being replaced by Matt Hackett, who finished with seven saves.
Cliche opened the scoring midway through the first period, converting a pass by Cody McLeod from behind the net, and Duchene set up Mitchell for a redirection in front 32 seconds later to double the lead. Rushing down the slot, Barrie received a backhand pass from Ryan O'Reilly before beating Hackett 3:29 into the second to make it 3-0.
Duchene continued the barrage by scoring from the top of the slot at 6:56 before Meszaros got Buffalo on the board 3:09 into the third, faking a shot from the left faceoff circle and skating around a sliding Varlamov before tucking a backhander inside the left post. Stuart restored the four-goal lead 99 seconds afterward before Meszaros and Ristolainen tallied to make the final score respectable.
GAME NOTEBOOK: O'Reilly's assist on Barrie's goal extended his point streak to seven games. The 24-year-old, who has collected four goals and eight assists during the run, has notched at least one point in 11 of his last 12 contests. ... Iginla snapped a tie with Jean Beliveau to take sole possession of 40th place on the all-time list with 1,222 career points. ... The Sabres were without C Tyler Ennis (upper body), who leads the team with 19 goals and 42 points.