CHICAGO (AP) -- Moments after putting his team in jeopardy in overtime, Colorado's Alex Tanguay found an ideal way to redeem himself.
Tanguay scored 3:42 into the extra session to give the Avalanche a 5-4 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. The goal came just 18 seconds after he served a penalty for tripping Steve Sullivan in the Blackhawks zone,
Tanguay took a pass from Peter Forsberg, then beat Chicago goalie Michael Leighton high on the glove side with a shot from the left circle.
"I hit (Sullivan's) skate and he went down and that was a penalty," Tanguay said. "So, it was a little nerve-racking for a couple minutes there in the box."
Tanguay regained his composure quickly to score the winner.
"It was a three-on-two and Peter gave me the puck," he said. "I was looking to give it back. I think the goalie was waiting for that and I just shot it on the far side and fortunately for us the puck went in."
Karlis Skrastins and John-Michael Liles scored in the third period for the Avalanche, who trailed 3-0 after the first.
Steve Moore and Milan Hejduk also scored for the Avalanche, 6-0-0-1 in their last seven games. Hejduk scored on a second-period penalty shot, the first of his career.
"We showed a lot of character in this room," Hejduk said. "It's a great confidence booster, a win like that."
Mark Bell had two goals for Chicago, 5-16-4-5 in its last 30 games. Scott Nichol and Tuomo Ruutu also scored for the Blackhawks.
"We had our chance to win in overtime with a four-on-three," Bell said. "The momentum shifts are big. We found a way to lose it and they found a way to win it."
Colorado goalie Philippe Sauve stopped 32 shots. Leighton made 30 saves.
The Blackhawks outshot Colorado 16-5 in the first period, but couldn't protect their lead.
Nichol opened the scoring at 5:16. Sauve stopped Nichol's wraparound shot from the left side of the crease, but then knocked the puck in with his left skate.
Bell scored on a turnaround shot from the edge of the crease with 1:59 left to make it 2-0.
Ruutu gave Chicago a 3-0 lead with eight seconds left in the period. Sauve stopped Igor Korolev's shot from the right side of the net, but the rebound slid into the crease where Ruutu fired it into an open net.
Moore cut it to 3-1 at 5:37 of the second on a rebound from the slot. Leighton had stopped shots by Adam Foote and Tanguay before Moore connected.
Hejduk trimmed it to 3-2 midway through the second on a penalty shot, fired past Leighton on the glove side. The attempt was awarded when Chicago defenseman Stephane Robidas fell on the puck in the crease.
Bell extended Chicago's lead to 4-2 with 1:46 left in the second.
Liles' goal at 9:37 of the third made it 4-3. He backhanded in a shot from the crease after Joe Sakic slid the puck to him from behind the net.
Skrastins tied it at 4 with 6:34 left in regulation to set up overtime. He ripped a shot that beat Leighton high on the glove side.
