Avalanche Down Red Wings in Overtime

The Colorado Avalanche earned a 4-3 overtime win over the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday, scoring with 2:19 remaining in the extra period to pick up the victory.

Brad Richardson scored the game-winner, banging home is own rebound under the arms of the sprawling Chris Osgood, who made the first save after Richardson took a pass from Wojtek Wolski on a two-on-one.

The Avalanche also scored the game’s first two goals, after Detroit’s Tomas Holmstrom missed on a penalty shot attempt at the end of the first period.

Milan Hejduk got Colorado on the board with 9:05 remaining in the second. Paul Stastny raced down the left wing and sent the puck into the front of the goal for Hedjuk, who poked it past Osgood.

Just 3:09 later, Tyler Arnason put the Avalanche up by a pair. The puck was knocked free from a scrum along the left wing boards by Wolski and Arnason got to it before any Red Wing could, wristing a high shot over Osgood’s glove.

With 57 seconds remaining in the period, Valtteri Filppula cut the Colorado lead to a goal, wristing a shot from the edge of the left circle past Avalanche goaltender Peter Budaj after Pavel Datsyuk threaded a pass to him from the right wing boards.

Only 1:14 into the third, Kris Draper tied things up. Draper spun and threw the puck on net from the left circle and it bounced off Budaj’s stick, the post, Budaj’s back, and into the net.

Colorado regained the lead at 8:41 of the period when Brett McLean got the puck from Hejduk in front of the net and beat Osgood, with Kyle Calder stuck back covering on defense and unable to get position on him.

The Red Wings forced overtime by scoring with 1:27 remaining. A blast by Schneider from the top of the left circle went wide to the far side but deflected off Calder. The puck bounced off Budaj’s back and bumped up against the near post but Draper jumped in and poked it across the goal line just as Budaj found it.

Detroit finished the game with 34 shots, Budaj having stopped 31 of them. Osgood made 23 saves on 27 Colorado shots.

The Red Wings failed to score on their lone power play and the Avalanche were without a goal on their four chances with the extra attacker.

The point gained by forcing overtime pulls Detroit to within one of the Nashville Predators in the race for the Central Division. The Predators play Sunday night in Anaheim, which will give Detroit a game in hand on them.

The Red Wings will be back in action on Tuesday when they host those very same Nashville Predators, one of four remaining games between the two teams.