In Denver, the Colorado Avalanche held a 2-1 lead over the Minnesota Wild Tuesday night.
Then the roof caved in as the Wild reeled off four unanswered goals in a 5-2 victory.
For the Wild, it was their third straight win.
Eric Staal scored twice in win over Avs – file photo courtesy of Lewis Bleiman
Eric Staal struck for two goals in the win.
“We wanted this game, we knew it was important,” Staal said. “We’re smart enough to know the standings and know how competitive our division is. We wanted to follow up the same effort we had in [a 4-2 win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday]. We came in with the right mindset and played a strong game. We had everyone contributing, and hopefully we’ll come back and be re-energized and excited about finishing strong.”
Devan Dubnyk made 20 saves for the win.
“Eric Staal was great,” Wild head coach Bruce Boudreau said. “He’s reminding me of this time last year when he started to go and find his legs. It’s a great time that the boys deserve a break. But you certainly wish you could keep playing if they’re going to play like that.”
Tyson Barrie and Carl Soderberg scored for the Avs.
“We need to be better,” the Avs’ Gabriel Landeskog said. “We had two leads in the beginning of the game and we can’t build on them. I think everybody realizes what position we’re in and what needs to be done when we get back. Nothing needs to be said.”
The Avs dropped to 22-20-8.
“We did some good things early in the game, and then I think frustration … just branching off on our own, fragmenting as a team,” Colorado head coach Jared Bednar said. “We have to find a way to be more mature and stick to the game and continue to play whether it’s frustrating or not.”
Minnesota improved to 26-21-3.
Jared Spurgeon, Charlie Coyle and Ryan Suter also scored for the Wild.
“[The Avalanche are] right behind us in the standings,” Coyle said. “This isn’t the end-all be-all, but it’s another step in the right direction. Something we obviously wanted to take care of going on break, being our last game for a while, so we want to make sure we get as many points as we can.”
[WATCH: All Wild vs. Avalanche highlights]
Philipp Grubauer made 23 saves in the loss.
“Penalties and poor execution, just not doing the right things with the puck. We didn’t take care of the puck,” Bednar said. “Too many turnovers in the middle of the ice, not willing to skate the puck and chip the puck, make a safe, smart decision and head to the right areas to win the battles. Looking to be too cute, too stubborn with the puck.”
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