National Hockey League
Edmonton 6, Colorado 3
When: 10:00 PM ET, Wednesday, November 23, 2016
Where: Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado
Referees: Tom Chmielewski, Eric Furlatt
Linesmen: Shandor Alphonso, John Grandt
Attendance: 15185

DENVER -- Semyon Varlamov got the best of Connor McDavid in the second period, but the Colorado Avalanche goalie couldn't stop the Edmonton Oilers' 19-year-old sensation all night.

McDavid had one of four Edmonton goals in the third period, including the winner early in the period, and the Oilers beat the Avalanche 6-3 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 added two goals.

"We had a bunch of chances in the second period, guys in the slot, point blank. He's making big saves," McDavid said of Varlamov. "Those are bound to go in at some point."

Leon Draisaitl had a goal and an assist and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also scored for Edmonton, which won its third straight. The Oilers (12-8-1) prevailed for the first time when trailing after two periods.

"We talked about taking the puck to the net more, and when we started doing that, good things started to happen," Lucic said. "It's a big step for us to take to be able to come back from behind and get a big win on this road trip."

Edmonton goalie Cam Talbot recorded 25 saves to follow up his 31-save shutout against the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday.

McDavid was held in check in the first two periods, including a Varlamov save on a breakaway, as 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. 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.

"I tried to do that in the second period, but it took a little too long for it to develop and he did a good job of getting back," McDavid said. "This time it was kind of a bang-bang play, just tried to put it there and hopefully go off something."

Draisaitl scored a power-play goal 1:05 later to make it 5-3, and Eberle added an empty-net goal.

Rene Bourque registered two goals and Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche (9-10-0). Varlamov stopped 35 shots for Colorado, which lost for the first time after leading entering the third period.

"We should have been ready for them to push in the third period," Avalanche center Matt Duchene said. "We weren't quite ready for it for some reason. They got that one early, and all their guys were feeling it. You have to give them credit, too, but we have to bear down."

Colorado saw its modest two-game winning streak end after drawing eight penalties.

"We're taking too many, we're tops in the league in penalties against," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "The worst penalty kills are the teams that take the most penalties, and that's where we're at. You're trying to ask a team to kill five, six, seven penalties a game. It's not going to happen; no team does that."

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.

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.

NOTES: Avalanche LW Gabriel Landeskog missed his fourth consecutive 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. ... With his two goals, Edmonton RW Jordan Eberle has 24 points in 27 career games against the Avalanche. ... Colorado C Mikhail Grigorenko was a healthy scratch. It was the first time this season he was scratched. D Eric Gelinas was also a healthy scratch. ... Oilers D Eric Gryba, C Mark Letestu and LW Benoit Pouilot were scratched.
Top Game Performances
 
Edmonton   Colorado
Milan Lucic 4 Points Rene Bourque 2
Jordan Eberle 2 Goals Rene Bourque 2
Milan Lucic 3 Assists Mikko Rantanen 2
Jordan Eberle 1 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Cam Talbot .893 Save Percentage Semyon Varlamov .875
Cam Talbot 25 Saves Semyon Varlamov 35
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Edmonton 41 6 2-6 2-2 8 27
Colorado 28 3 0-2 4-6 16 35
Upcoming Games
  • Colorado will play their next game at home against Vancouver. The Avalanche have a W/L % of .300 after a win and .667 after a loss.
  • Edmonton will play their next game on the road against Arizona. The Oilers have a W/L % of .727 after a win and .400 after a loss.