Ducks storm back from late two-goal deficit for 4-2 win over Avalanche

Getzlaf lifts Ducks to late win over Avalanche

DENVER — Ryan Getzlaf scored with 25.9 seconds remaining, completing a late rally by the Anaheim Ducks for a 4-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night.

Trailing 2-0 late in the third period, the Ducks scored four unanswered goals for their fourth win in five games.

Scott Niedermayer and Dan Sexton had goals to tie up the game, then Getzlaf scored the go-ahead goal.

The Avalanche pulled goalie Craig Anderson for the final seconds, and Todd Marchant added an empty-net goal.

Jonas Hiller had 15 saves to bump his winning streak to four games.

Brandon Yip scored his first NHL goal for Colorado, while Paul Stastny added another.

The Avalanche appeared to be cruising toward the win, when the wheels suddenly flew off.

Niedermayer scored his fourth goal of the season with just over 7 minutes remaining. Anderson was none too pleased, though, as he felt Bobby Ryan interfered with him in the goal crease.

However, the play never went to review.

With 4:55 remaining, Sexton tied the game when he slapped in a pass from Saku Koivu. The Pepsi Center crowd suddenly went quiet.

The game seemed headed for overtime, but Getzlaf gobbled up a loose puck and knocked it by a sprawled-out Anderson to complete the stunning rally.

“When you’re down 2-0 with 8 minutes left, you think things are almost wrapped up,” said Getzlaf, who scored a goal for the fourth straight game. “It’s a situation where we battled pretty hard and got a few bounces and were able to get back on the board.”

Despite the late-game collapse, the Avalanche head into the Christmas break leading the Northwest Division.

The Ducks have one more game before the holiday hiatus, traveling to Phoenix on Wednesday night.

Anaheim kept the pressure on in the second period, outshooting Colorado 14-4. But the Ducks couldn’t get anything past Anderson. It certainly wasn’t from a lack of point-blank opportunities. Anderson blocked a shot by Corey Perry with his chest, then later turned back James Wisniewski’s slap shot from the right side with less than a second left in the period.

The Avalanche jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the opening period when Yip took a pass from Matt Hendricks and lined it by Hiller. Yip becomes the latest member of Colorado’s youth movement. So far this season, the Avalanche have had six different players make their debut.

This was Yip’s third career game after being recalled from Lake Erie of the AHL on Friday.

Colorado had a chance to extend the lead later in the first when Chris Stewart stole the puck and skated in on a breakaway, but he sent his shot wide of the net.

Notes: Colorado F Marek Svatos missed his fifth game with a groin injury. … First-year Avs coach Joe Sacco said that D Ruslan Salei will be sidelined indefinitely after recently undergoing back surgery. … Sacco was a member of Anaheim during the team’s inaugural season in 1993-94.