Klingberg, Stars defeat Avalanche in OT

DENVER-- John Klingberg scored 35 seconds into overtime to give the Dallas Stars a 4-3 win against the Colorado Avalanche at Pepsi Center on Thursday.
Klingberg intercepted a Tyson Barrie pass and sped into the Avalanche end on a 3-0n-1 rush. His shot got by goalie Calvin Pickard, beating him to the stick side for his eighth goal of the season.

"I looked at the goalie and saw some net there on the left side and just tried to aim it," Klingberg said. "I wanted to freeze him first and make him make the first play. He looked small. I think he was ready for sliding, he thought I was going to pass it, so I surprised him a little."
Pickard was under siege throughout the game and finished with 40 saves for the second game in a row.

"[Klingberg] wound up for a slap shot and it was kind of a delayed shot," Pickard said. "There are some passing options there, so you can't be too far out or else he can just slide it over. He's a good player and he made a good shot." Dallas (33-14-5) has won three games in a row and four of its past five. The Stars had lost eight consecutive games to the Avalanche since a 3-2 win on Dec. 17, 2013.
"They've had our number for a while and seem to shut us down pretty well," said Stars defenseman Jason Demers, who tied the game 3-3 with a power-play goal at 11:20 of the third period. "We did a great job tonight of not getting too anxious when we were getting those chances. They're tough in this building."
The Avalanche (27-23-4) have gone 1-2-1 in their past four games after winning four in a row.

"I feel that we're giving way too many shots, especially at home," Avalanche coach Patrick Roy said. "We need to play a tighter game. I just felt that in exchanging chances with a team like them, c'mon. It's not the game we need to play. We need to play better defensively, make better decisions. We're lucky we [got] a point tonight, quite honestly."
Demers tied the game when he moved in from the point and converted Cody Eakin's pass from the side of the net, shooting between Pickard's legs for his sixth goal.
Avalanche forward Blake Comeau was in the penalty box for cross-checking Jamie Benn 48 seconds into a Colorado power play.

"I didn't agree with the call," said Comeau, who had a goal and an assist. "I thought the guy did a 360 the minute I put my stick in his back and he went down. Honestly, I thought it was just a battle play in the middle of the ice. I was pretty frustrated with that call, but that happens and we have to find a way to kill it."
Stars goalie Antti Niemi (21 saves) made a save against Nathan MacKinnon on a penalty shot at 4:14 of the third period. MacKinnon was awarded the shot after he was hooked on the left arm by Klingberg while on a breakaway.
"It was huge," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. "[Niemi] got off to a little rough start for us, but he battled back. He made that save and made a save on [Matt] Duchene that I thought was a big save for us. A couple of key saves is what we needed. We missed some great opportunities, a few empty nets. I thought the other guy made a couple of good ones, but we made him look pretty good."

It was the first penalty shot attempt by the Avalanche since Jan. 18, 2011 when Kevin Porter was stopped by Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo.
Carl Soderberg put the Avalanche in front 3-2 at 17:00 of the second period with his 11th goal. Comeau spun around in the left circle and passed across to Soderberg in the lower right circle for a shot inside the near post.
Ruff used his coach's challenge 36 seconds later after Avalanche defenseman Zach Redmond scored from the right point when Colorado's Andreas Martinsen knocked down Niemi at the top of the crease. The goal was overturned because of goalie interference.
"Running over our goaltender, which is not only goalie interference but it's a penalty at the same time," Ruff said.
Dallas tied the game 2-2 on an Ales Hemsky breakaway at 15:35 of the second period after he received a stretch pass from defenseman Alex Goligoski.

The Avalanche took a 2-1 lead in the first period on goals by Comeau and Nick Holden after Stars center Jason Spezza opened the scoring at 1:31.
Comeau, who had gone 15 games without a goal, tied the game 1-1 at 2:45. Soderberg passed to Comeau, who skated down left wing and shot the puck by Niemi's glove for his seventh goal.
The Avalanche went ahead at 5:54 on Holden's first goal in 20 games and fourth of the season. MacKinnon fed Holden at the left point for a shot that went through four players in front.
Spezza scored when he was skating in the slot after a setup by Patrick Eaves, who used a backhand pass from low in the left circle. Spezza beat Pickard for his 18th goal. He has four goals and three assists in his past nine games.
Ruff said that Spezza sustained an upper-body injury in the second period and would miss "more than a few days."