Avalanche Overcomes Wild 5-4

DENVER (AP) — Semyon Varlamov had 35 saves, John Mitchell had a goal and an assist and the Colorado Avalanche edged the Minnesota Wild 5-4 on Thursday night.

Matt Duchene had two assists for Colorado, which survived a flurry at the end to get the victory. Ryan O'Reilly, Paul Stastny, Nathan MacKinnon and Maxime Talbot also scored.

The Avalanche won the season series with the Wild 4-0-1 and moved nine points ahead of them in the Central Division. Colorado has a firm grasp on third place and the final automatic playoff seed in the division.