Barrie’s OT goal lifts Avs past Senators 4-3

Paul Stastny had the tying goal and two assists and Tyson Barrie scored 33 seconds into overtime to complete the rally that lifted the Avalanche to a 4-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday night.

Jan Hejda and Jamie McGinn also scored for Colorado and Gabriel Landeskog had a career-high three assists.

“It’s awesome. To get that point going to OT was huge, and to get the second one was awesome,” Barrie said.

It didn’t look like Colorado would get any points for the second straight home game. The Senators carried the play for a majority of the game but couldn’t finish it off.

“I think we got what we deserved. They played very good to start the game and very good to end the game,” Senators coach Paul MacLean said. “In between we were in control. You come on the road and get a point after being down 2-0 in the first five minutes, I think we earned the point.”

The Avalanche were down 3-2 in the third and pressed for the tying goal. John Mitchell nearly tied it when his shot went off the inside of the right post. Stastny got the equalizer moments later when he deked goalie Craig Anderson and scored at 17:40.

In overtime, Stastny fed Barrie in front of the net and the defenseman buried the chance to give Colorado the win.

“I called to Paul behind the net and I just tried to get open,” Barrie said. “I knew he was going to find me. It was just a matter of trying to beat the goalie. I thought I saw some room on the right side and tried to put it there and fortunately it went in. That’s a huge two points for us.”

Clarke MacArthur had a goal and an assist, and Jason Spezza and Kyle Turris also scored and Ottawa.

“We didn’t have a good start to the game, but we played a really good hockey game after that,” Spezza said. “We sat back too much and we gave them too many chances to tie the game, and in overtime anything can happen.”

The Senators controlled play for much of the second period and took the lead on two quick goals after a pair of minors by Colorado defensemen. Cory Sarich drew a slashing minor at 11:06 and Hejda a delay of game 68 seconds later to put the Avalanche down two players.

Spezza, back after missing four games with a hip flexor injury, tied it with his 12th goal with 13 seconds left in the 5-on-3. Colorado killed off the second minor, but Turris scored before Hejda could get back into the play. It was Turris’ 11th goal of the year.

“We were in full control,” MacArthur said. “We were finding a way to win and tonight we found a way to lose.”

Colorado jumped ahead with two goals by 4:54 into the first period.

McGinn got the first one when he tipped Erik Johnson’s pass from the point during a power play past Anderson. It was McGinn’s 10th of the season.

Hejda made it 2-0 just 2:35 later when he beat Anderson with a slap shot from the point. It was his eighth goal of the season.

Anderson finished with 27 saves and Erik Karlsson had two assists.

The two goals seemed to energize the Senators, who outshot the Avalanche 9-3 the rest of the first period. They pressured goalie Semyon Varlamov and finally broke through after a turnover by Andre Benoit. Bobby Ryan gathered the loose puck and fed MacArthur from behind the net, and the left winger scored on a one-timer from the left slot at 15:02. It was his 15th of the season.

Ottawa nearly tied it on a power play early in the second period. Two Senators hit posts during the man advantage as the Senators had four shots on goal in the two minutes.

Varlamov stopped 29 shots.

“A character win for us. We were a little shaky after they had that 5-on-3 and we were a little shaky to start the third period. Varly made some great saves for us. The last five minutes, I really liked what I saw. We played with urgency and I was very proud of our team.”

NOTES: Barrie has two overtime goals in his career. … Avalanche C Ryan O’Reilly was scratched with a shoulder injury. O’Reilly was injured in the third period of Monday’s loss to Calgary. … Ottawa LW Chris Neil missed his third straight game with a hamstring injury. … Colorado recalled LW David Van Der Gulik from Lake Erie of the AHL. … Landeskog extended his points streak to eight games.