Entering the third period down 2-1, the Colorado Avalanche (10-12-1, 21 pts) exploded for four goals, beating the stunned Edmonton Oilers (12-9-2, 26 pts).
The Avalanche, who entered the game with the league's second best power play conversion rate at 24.3%, took advantage of a Ryan Whitney holding call in the third period, when at 6:06, Shane O'Brien connected with a 51 foot slapshot, tying the game as 2-2. Minutes later, Stefan Elliott slipped a 55 foot wrister past the Oilers defense, pushing the Avalanche to their first lead and a 3-2 game.
Ten minutes later, the Colorado offense caught fire again as Jan Hejda (16:19) and Paul Stastny (18:07) scored within minutes of each other, giving the Avalance their final and sufficient 5-2 lead. Despite executing only 29 shots to the Oilers 33, the physical Avalanche (which had almost twice as many hits) managed to mount the unlikely comeback.
Colorado will be back in action on Monday, hosting the Dallas Stars.
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