ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -Paul Stastny had two goals and an assist, and the low-scoring Colorado Avalanche broke out for a 6-5 win over the Minnesota Wild on Monday night.
Marek Svatos, David Jones, T.J. Hensick and Milan Hejduk also scored for Colorado, which entered the game as the second lowest scoring team in the Western Conference. The six goals were a season high for the Avalanche.
The Avalanche (12-12-0) had a 20-6 advantage in shots midway through the second period and capitalized on several Wild turnovers and miscues to build an insurmountable lead.
Hejduk, Hensick and Stastny scored three straight goals in the second off Minnesota turnovers to give Colorado a 6-3 lead. The offensive outburst was even more surprising since it came against the Wild, the NHL's toughest team to score against.
Stastny's last goal in the second proved to be the winner after Minnesota's Brent Burns scored with six minutes left in the third to cut it to 6-5.
Burns' goal held up after a replay showed he did not interfere with Colorado goalie Peter Budaj before the puck crossed the line.
A bouncing puck off the stick of Wild forward Benoit Pouliot went in the net a few seconds after time expired in the third period, causing the Minnesota fans to groan in disbelief.
Minnesota needed the late surge after looking dazed for much of the first two periods. The only time the Wild (14-8-1) looked sharp through two periods Monday was on the power play, where it scored three times.
Pierre-Marc Bouchard scored twice and Mikko Koivu and Owen Nolan also had goals. Both of Bouchard's tallies gave Minnesota a temporary one-goal lead. Nolan's goal cut the Avs' lead to 6-4 before the second intermission.
Josh Harding replaced Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom to start the third period. Bakstrom entered Monday with a 2.15 goals against average and was one of the main reasons for Minnesota's early season defensive success.
Colorado continues to scratch out wins despite missing two of its core players.
The Avs have won three of four and remain competitive in the conference despite playing without Adam Foote (back) and Joe Sakic (back). Both players did not make the road trip and will be re-evaluated this week.
Notes: The Wild named defenseman Kim Johnsson captain for December. The veteran Swede leads the Wild in time on ice (24:55) and has eight points. It will be Johnsson's first stint as captain since signing with Minnesota in 2006. ... Colorado is finishing up a stretch where it will play nine of 12 games on the road. ... The Avs haven't played consecutive home games since Nov. 6-8. ... This was the 300th regular season game played at the Xcel Energy Center. ... Six was a season high in goals allowed for Minnesota. ... Wild center Eric Belanger returned from a lower body injury and skated in his 500th game.
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