Eurolanche

Avalanche dump Flames 6-3

On their last stop of a four-game road-trip, the Colorado Avalanche found some gas left in the tank -- and a little bit of offense, too.

After scoring just one goal in their first three games away from Denver and playing their second game in as many days as well as their third in four nights, the Avalanche broke out of their scoring funk and beat the well-rested Calgary Flames 6-3 at Scotiabank Saddledome on Thursday night.

The loss was Calgary's first action in five days -- the longest stretch of time off between games the Flames will see this season. The Flames fell to 1-3-1 and their three points are tied with Washington (1-5-1) for the fewest in the NHL.

Paul Stastny's pair in the final three minutes propelled the Avalanche (3-4-0) to their first win in four games.

Just eight seconds into a Mark Giordano penalty, Stastny swept the puck under Flames goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff with 2:40 remaining in the game to put the Avalanche ahead 4-3.

Stastny wasn't finished as he bounced the puck off Kiprusoff's pad and into the net with 1:11 left. PA Parenteau, with his second of the night, iced the game with an empty-netter.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who made 25 saves in his first start of the season, kept the pressuring Flames at bay earlier in the third.

Giguere smothered a Dennis Wideman blast from the point late in the period, and with three minutes remaining he blockered away a Mikael Backlund breakaway to keep the game tied -- paving the way for Stastny's late-game heroics.

Fresh off a four-day break, Calgary wasted little time knocking the rust off with Jiri Hudler scoring his first goal in a Flames jersey.

Picking off an Avalanche errant pass, Hudler fired the puck over to Matt Stajan for a one-timer. A quick pad denied Stajan, but Giguere kicked the puck right back to Hudler, who found the back of the net from a sharp angle to put Calgary up 1-0 at 7:23.

Tim Jackman tried to extend the lead to two with just over three minutes in the period. With his linemates on a change, Jackman challenged Colorado coming in 1-on-4, splitting the defense before being denied by Giguere. The puck worked its way back to Chris Butler at the point, and his wide point shot was deflected off the iron, again by Jackman.

That post would prove costly before the period let out.

With 47 seconds left in the period, John Mitchell picked off Butler's fanned clearing attempt in the Calgary zone, walked off the boards and snapped the puck past Kiprusoff's blocker to tie the game 1-1.

Hudler wasted no time restoring that lead, scoring just 1:49 into the second period.

Gaining the blue line, Roman Cervenka fired a cross-ice pass to Stajan, who sent the puck back against the grain to a waiting Hudler on the doorstep. Hudler tapped the puck across the line to make it 2-1. With the assist, Cervenka recorded his first National Hockey League point.

But after Parenteau knotted the game 2-2 less than two minutes later, the Avalanche took their first lead of the game. After outbattling Stajan behind the net, Chuck Kobasew centered the puck to Mitchell, who beat Kiprusoff glove side for his second of the game at 16:58.

Like Colorado in the first, the Flames tied the game in the final minute of the period.

With the puck at the blue line, Wideman faked a slap shot and sailed a pass down to Hudler on the goal line. Hudler one-timed the puck to Alex Tanguay alone in the slot, and he beat Giguere over the glove with 17.7 seconds remaining to make it 3-3.

The Avalanche now return home for four straight games, beginning on Saturday afternoon against the Edmonton Oilers (1 p.m. MST).

-- by Aaron Vickers for NHL.com --