Samuel Girard broke a tie late in the third period for the Colorado Avalanche in a 6-4 preseason win against the Minnesota Wild at Ball Arena in Denver on Thursday.
J.T. Compher's second assist set up Girard, who scored with 3:15 remaining to give Colorado a 5-4 lead. Erik Johnson scored into an empty net with 1:06 left for the 6-4 final. Johnson scored twice, and Nazem Kadri had a goal and two assists for Colorado. Darcy Kuemper made 12 saves on 15 shots. Justus Annunen made 19 saves on 20 shots in relief. Ryan Hartman and Kevin Fiala each scored a power-play goal, and Mats Zuccarello had three assists for Minnesota. Cam Talbot made 22 saves on 24 shots. Andrew Hammond allowed three goals on eight shots in relief.
