Ducks defeat Avalanche, keep division hopes alive

DENVER -- Jakob Silfverberg scored twice and Corey Perry had three assists to help the Anaheim Ducks defeat the Colorado Avalanche 5-3 at Pepsi Center on Saturday.
Anaheim (45-25-11) can win the Pacific Division with a victory at the Washington Capitals on Sunday. The Ducks trail the Los Angeles Kings by one point; the Kings lost to the Winnipeg Jets 4-3 in a shootout Saturday in their regular-season finale.

The game Sunday was rescheduled from Jan. 22 because of a snowstorm.
Anaheim goalie John Gibson made 29 saves Saturday.

"We just wanted to play our game," said Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf, who scored a third-period power-play goal. "We want to win as many games as we can and then see where we're at. We have no idea what L.A. is going to do (Saturday), so we have to take care of our game and we did that.
"We played pretty well. A little scrambly at times, we left the front of the net open a couple of times, but overall we played pretty well. I think we're getting better, we're doing things a little better every night. Things are going to ramp up here so we'll be ready. There's no good (playoff) matchup in the West. Anyone in the playoffs nowadays is a pretty good hockey team."
The Avalanche (39-39-4), who have been eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention, finished their season with six consecutive losses.
"It (stinks), it's a terrible feeling," Avalanche center Matt Duchene said. "There's nothing good for me right now. I'm sitting here trying to think of something good to think about and it's pretty hard. I've always tried to be a positive guy, but it's hard to be positive now. I think all of us have felt that way since we were eliminated. A lot to think about this summer, a lot of work to do."
Getzlaf and Silfverberg scored 1:37 apart in the third to give the Ducks a 5-2 lead.

Getzlaf beat Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov, who made 26 saves, to the short side at 11:20 with a shot from below the right faceoff dot for his 13th goal. Silfverberg scored at 12:57 with a shot that skimmed between Varlamov's pads for his 20th goal.
"It's the first time for me, it's a milestone," Silfverberg said of reaching 20 goals. "Hopefully I can keep this momentum going in the playoffs. I can't be satisfied here, there's a big game (Sunday) and then after that it's playoff time. I always see myself as a two-way forward with a good shot. I want to be a goal scorer.
"It might have taken me a little bit longer than I wanted to this year, but we have the playoffs coming now. Hopefully I can keep on pushing the same way in the playoffs and help the team both in scoring and defending."
Silfverberg has scored 11 goals in the past 14 games.
"If he keeps playing like that it's pretty good for us," Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said. "There were chances (Saturday). He could've had two more, I think."

Zach Redmond scored on a Colorado power play with 1:17 remaining for his second goal to make it 5-3.
Anaheim raced to a 3-0 lead on goals by Cam Fowler, Silfverberg and Ryan Garbutt, but Colorado pulled to within 3-2 on second-period goals from Nick Holden and Jarome Iginla 32 seconds apart.
Fowler opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 14:44 of the first period after Avalanche forward Andreas Martinsen was assessed a major penalty for interference and game misconduct at 11:42 for a hit against Garbutt. Chris Stewart made a spinning move at the top of the right circle and passed to Fowler in the slot for his fifth goal.
"Definitely didn't see that (hit) coming," Garbutt said. "Thought it was a little bit late. It was nice to score on that power play."

Silfverberg beat Varlamov from the bottom of the right circle with 54.8 seconds left in the first for his 19th goal.
Garbutt made it 3-0 at 9:37 of the second period with his seventh goal after he skated between Avalanche forwards Blake Comeau and Shawn Matthias.
"You want to come out feeling healthy, get two wins for sure," Garbutt said. "Always nice rolling into the playoffs like this. But obviously when the playoffs start, that's when the games really matter."
Holden took a shot from inside the blue line that dribbled between Gibson's pads. Holden continued to the net and knocked in the loose puck at 9:54 for his sixth goal.
Iginla converted Gabriel Landeskog's pass in front at 10:26 for his 22nd goal and 611th of his NHL career. He passed Bobby Hull into sole possession of 16th place on the all-time list. Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic is 15th on the list with 625 goals.