Before the game, the big story was Matt Duchene moving to left wing in an attempt to jump start the talented young player. In his first game as a winger, Duchene tallies his first career hat trick and added an assist. Unfortunately, the offensive outburst wasn't enough to overcome a weak penalty kill and the Colorado Avalanche lost a heartbreaker in overtime to the Dallas Stars, 7-6.
The goalie matchup looked promising before the game, but neither lived up to the pregame potential. Semyon Varlamov stopped just 22 of the 29 shots he faced, an effort that was matched by Dallas' Kari Lehtonen stopping only 34 of 40 shots. Dallas scored four of their goals on the power play, taking advantage of six Avalanche penalties.
Nine different Avalanche players scored a point tonight, led by Duchene's team high four points. Stastny's newly constructed line accounted for four of Colorado's six goals.
Colorado controlled much of the overtime period, firing shot after shot on Lehtonen without any success. Loui Erickson scored the winning goal off a falling Erik Johnson with barely a minute left in the extra period to secure the victory for the streaking Stars, who maintain their lead in the Pacific Division. Lehtonen remains undefeated against Colorado, the only team in the NHL that has yet to beat him.
The Avalanche will return to the Pepsi Center and face off against the Calgary Flames on Sunday, November 6.
For more coverage, visit our Avalanche blog Mile High Hockey and our Stars blog Defending Big D.