DENVER - Despite entering Thursday's game missing half their regular rotation of defensemen and losing two forwards during the tilt, the Carolina Hurricanes rallied around a herculean effort from Frederik Andersen to take a 5-4 shootout victory over the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena.
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It didn't take long for this retro-themed contest to look like the high-scoring hockey of the 80s, with both teams trading goals in the first five minutes. Putting Carolina on the board first, Eric Robinson picked the short-side corner on a rush chance at 3:07, but the Avs answered 57 seconds later through Valeri Nichushkin.
The rest of the first period, though, belonged to the Hurricanes. Striking for three goals in a span of 6:23, the visitors opened up a three-goal advantage thanks to a shorthanded breakaway marker from Seth Jarvis, a deflection from Sebastian Aho and some slick work in front of the net by Logan Stankoven.
As injuries, penalty trouble and a growing barrage of Colorado shots allowed the hosts to assert some territorial dominance in the final 40 minutes, the remaining Carolina skaters, their goaltender and their penalty kill put on quite a defensive show to keep their foe at bay, but the high-octane Avalanche still managed to climb back into the contest.
After cutting Carolina's lead to two goals in the second period, the Avs ultimately tied the contest with two more tallies in the final frame to force overtime.
Each team received a power-play opportunity in overtime, but neither could cash in, setting the stage for Jarvis to pot the only goal of the shootout.
At the other end, Andersen stymied all three Colorado shooters after posting a whopping 44 saves during regulation and overtime.
