Jokinen, Fleury lead Penguins past Avs 3-2 in SO
DENVER (AP) Jussi Jokinen skated across the front of the crease and roofed a shot over sprawling goalie Semyon Varlamov to give the Pittsburgh Penguins a 3-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche in a shootout on Sunday night.
After Jokinen's goal, Marc-Andre Fleury made a pad save on Gabriel Landeskog's shot, snapping Colorado's six-game winning streak and denying Varlamov franchise records for most home and overall wins in a season.
After falling behind 2-0 on Brandon Sutter's first multiple-goal game this season, Colorado scored twice in the third period to tie it and send the game to overtime.
Ryan O'Reilly scored his team-leading 28th goal of the season 18 seconds into the third period, and Patrick Bordeleau redirected defenseman Tyson Barrie's shot from the point past Fleury with 3:13 left in regulation.
Fleury had 39 saves, including one in the closing seconds of overtime after Penguins defenseman Paul Martin was sent to the penalty box with 37 seconds remaining for delay of game after he knocked the puck over the glass in the defensive zone.
Sutter scored both of his goals in the second period, one on a breakaway, the other on a power-play shot between Varlamov's legs.
Locked into the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, the Penguins sat several of their regulars, including Sidney Crosby, who missed his first game of the season because of an unspecified injury. He has never played all 82 games in a season.
Pittsburgh defensemen Brooks Orpik and Olli Maata and left wing Chris Kunitz also were scratched with unspecified injuries, and center Evgeni Malkin missed his eighth straight game due to a foot injury.
Varlamov stopped all 31 shots on Saturday in St. Louis to earn his 40th win of the season, tying Colorado coach Patrick Roy's franchise record. He finished 24-10-3 on home ice, matching Roy's record for home wins set in 2000-01, when the Avs won the Stanley Cup for a second time.
The Avalanche, headed to the playoffs for the first time in four years after beating every other team this season, will finish the season with a four-game trip beginning Tuesday night at Edmonton. At 24-10-3, they own the best road-winning percentage (.689) in the NHL. Another win would break the franchise record for most road victories.
The Avs are two points ahead of Chicago for second place in the Central Division, which would give them home-ice advantage in their first-round matchup in the playoffs.
NOTES: The Avs, who had three six-game winning streaks this season, missed a chance to equal the second-most home wins (27) in their history. ... The Penguins avenged a 1-0 loss to Colorado at home on Oct. 21 when they held a 34-14 advantage in shots. ... Avalanche D Cory Sarich missed his third straight game with a back injury.
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