Avs hold off Senators' late charge for 5th straight win

Logan O'Connor and Ross Colton scored 1:32 apart in the third period, and the surging Colorado Avalanche beat the Ottawa Senators 5-4 in Denver on Sunday night.

Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and an assist, Nikolai Kovalenko scored his first NHL goal, and Josh Manson also scored in the win. Justus Annunen turned away 26 shots and Casey Mittelstadt had three assists for Colorado, which has won five straight after losing its first four in regulation.

Samuel Girard added two assists for the Avalanche.

Claude Giroux had two goals, Brady Tkachuk and Nick Cousins scored and Anton Forsberg made 25 saves for Ottawa.

Forsberg twice left the game in the second period for equipment issues. Linus Ullmark made two saves in 4:46 of action.

Colorado appeared to take a 1-0 lead when MacKinnon put a backhand through Forsberg's pads at 15:30 but Ottawa successfully challenged for goaltender interference.

The Avalanche took a 1-0 lead when Mittelstadt sent a backhand pass to Kovalenko, who tapped it in at 19:52.

Colorado carried the play for much of the start of the second period but couldn't score on Forsberg or Ullmark until the final minute. Manson got the puck at the blue line, skated into the slot and put a backhander past Forsberg at 19:42 for his first goal of the season.

The Senators finally broke through midway through the third period. Tyler Kleven took a shot from the right circle that ricocheted off the backboards to Tkachuk, who knocked it into the open net at 9:15 for his fourth goal of the season.

Cousins tied it 2:08 later when he flipped a rebound over Annunen's left pad for his first of the season.

O'Connor got his first at 13:29 to put Colorado back in front, and Colton scored his team-leading eighth at 15:01. Giroux answered for Ottawa to cut the deficit to 4-3 at 16:48.

MacKinnon scored into an empty net at 18:45, his fourth of the season, and Giroux added his fifth goal at 19:50.

--Field Level Media