Recap
Avalanche 4, Wild 1
Associated Press

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Craig Anderson made 32 saves to help the Colorado Avalanche beat the Minnesota Wild 4-1 on Friday night, a victory tempered by the loss of center Ryan O'Reilly after he crashed headfirst into the boards.

Colorado led 2-0 early in the second period when O'Reilly was taken off the ice on a stretcher after losing his balance and slamming into the boards. A team official said O'Reilly had movement in his arms and legs and was taken to Regions Hospital. The injury delayed the game for about 10 minutes.

Kevin Porter, Milan Hejduk, Tomas Fleischmann and Ryan Wilson scored for Colorado.

Andrew Brunette scored for Minnesota.

Colorado extended its lead to 3-0 in the second when Fleischmann flicked a shot toward the net from the blue line and the puck bounced between rookie goalie Anton Khudobin's legs. Khudobin was playing because Niklas Backstrom and Jose Theodore, Minnesota's top two goalies, are out with lower-body injuries.

Once formidable at home, the Wild were booed by the hometown fans after the second period. They are 3-6-1 in their last 10 home games.

The Wild's lone goal came early in the third when Mikko Koivu's spin-o-rama pass from behind the net set up Brunette for an easy goal.

Colorado winger Chris Stewart played his first game since injuring his hand fighting the Wild's Kyle Brodziak on Nov. 27. Stewart was Colorado's leading goal scorer when he was injured.

Wild forward Cal Clutterbuck talked some trash after Minnesota beat the Avalanche on Dec. 23, leaving some to speculate that Colorado's players could seek revenge on Friday. There was a minor scuffle 27 seconds into the game, but no further incidents.

Porter and Hejduk scored in the first period, with Porter placing a nice wrist shot into the upper corner of the net during a rush at 8:55 and Hejduk doing the same on a power play at 17:34.  Wilson added an empty-netter late in the third.

NOTES: Wild coach Todd Richards didn't know if Theodore would be ready for Sunday's game against Vancouver. Backstrom skated in the morning and could be ready by Tuesday. ... The Wild recalled D Jared Spurgeon before the game and assigned F Patrick O'Sullivan to Houston of the AHL. The Wild also recalled G Matt Hackett to back up Khudobin. ... The Avalanche placed winger Greg Mauldin on waivers to make room for Stewart. ...Wild D Marco Scandella left the game in the third and didn't return after getting hit in the head with the puck.


Three star selections
1st:   CRAIG ANDERSON
2nd:   MILAN HEJDUK
3rd:   ANDREW BRUNETTE
Winning Goaltender
Craig Anderson

Losing Goaltender
Anton Khudobin

SCHEDULE

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AWAY
PROMOTIONAL

STANDINGS

WESTERN CONFERENCE
  TEAM GP W L OT GF GA PTS
1 p - CHI 48 36 7 5 155 102 77
2 y - ANA 48 30 12 6 140 118 66
3 y - VAN 48 26 15 7 127 121 59
4 x - STL 48 29 17 2 129 115 60
5 x - LAK 48 27 16 5 133 118 59
6 x - SJS 48 25 16 7 124 116 57
7 x - DET 48 24 16 8 124 115 56
8 x - MIN 48 26 19 3 122 127 55
9 CBJ 48 24 17 7 120 119 55
10 PHX 48 21 18 9 125 131 51
11 DAL 48 22 22 4 130 142 48
12 EDM 48 19 22 7 125 134 45
13 CGY 48 19 25 4 128 160 42
14 NSH 48 16 23 9 111 139 41
15 COL 48 16 25 7 116 152 39

STATS

2012-2013 REGULAR SEASON
SKATERS: GP G A +/- Pts
P. Parenteau 48 18 25 -11 43
M. Duchene 47 17 26 -12 43
P. Stastny 40 9 15 -7 24
J. McGinn 47 11 11 -13 22
J. Mitchell 47 10 10 5 20
R. O'Reilly 29 6 14 -3 20
G. Landeskog 36 9 8 -4 17
T. Barrie 32 2 11 -11 13
C. McLeod 48 8 4 4 12
M. Hejduk 29 4 7 -7 11
 
GOALIES: W L OT Sv% GAA
J. Giguere 5 4 4 .908 2.84
S. Varlamov 11 21 3 .903 3.02
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