Four-goal third period pushes Oilers past Avalanche
DENVER -- Connor McDavid had one of four Edmonton goals in the third period, including the winner early in the period, and the Oilers beat the Colorado Avalanche 6-3 on Wednesday night.
McDavid, the NHL's leading scorer, finished with a goal and two assists to increase his season total to 27 points. Milan Lucic had a goal and three assists and Jordan Eberle had two goals.
Leon Draisaitl had a goal and an assist and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also scored for Edmonton (12-8-1), which has won three straight.
Cam Talbot had 25 saves to follow up his 31-save shutout against Chicago on Monday.
Rene Bourque had two goals and Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche (9-10). Semyon Varlamov stopped 35 shots for Colorado.
McDavid was held in check in the first two periods when Colorado built a 3-2 lead, but he broke out in the third.
His drive to the net created a shot for Lucic, who tied it just 32 seconds into the third period. McDavid then gave the Oilers the lead when he got the puck off the backboards and shot it off Varlamov and in at 6:25.
Draisaitl scored a power-play goal 1:05 later to make it 5-3 and Eberle added an empty-net goal.
MacKinnon gave Colorado a 1-0 lead on a two-on-one rush at 5:50 of the first period. It was his fifth goal of the season.
Nugent-Hopkins tied it when he jumped on an Avalanche turnover and beat Varlamov with a wrister at 8:45. It was his third goal of the season.
Bourque scored his first goal on a delayed penalty at 17:19 to put Colorado up again and Eberle evened it at 2 with a power-play goal with 10.4 seconds left in the first period. It was his sixth goal of the season.
Colorado took a 3-2 lead into the second intermission on Bourque's second goal of the night at 12:56 of the second. He tipped Tyson Barrie's shot from the point through Talbot's leg just as Edmonton defenseman Andrej Sekera was coming out of the penalty box for his seventh goal of the season.
NOTES: Avalanche LW Gabriel Landeskog missed his fourth straight game with a lower-body injury. Landeskog skated Wednesday morning and the plan is to have him skate again Thursday with the hope he can practice Friday. The goal is to put him back in the lineup against Vancouver on Saturday. ... Entering Wednesday, Edmonton RW Jordan Eberle has 22 points in 26 career games against the Avalanche. ... Colorado C Mikhail Grigorenko was a healthy scratch. It's the first time this season he has been scratched. D Eric Gelinas was also a healthy scratch. ... Oilers D Eric Gryba, C Mark Letestu and LW Benoit Pouilot were scratched.