Brett Clark’s slap shot with 3:12 left in overtime gave the Avalanche a 5-4 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Tuesday night at the Pepsi Center.
The game started off dubiously for Andrew Raycroft. A long, stoppable-looking slap shot from Phoenix forward Joakim Lindstrom eluded Raycroft’s catching mitt. The short-side goal made it 1-0 Coyotes at the 4:39 mark.
The Avs responded with Paul Stastny getting his 10th of the season on the power play. The goal, at 11:59, was a rebound putback from the right side, Stastny’s fourth goal in the last five games.
The game stayed 1-1 until 7:06 of the second, when Milan Hejduk scored a goal that was the result of some extra effort by linemate Ryan Smyth. After a puck got past Phoenix veteran defenseman Ed Jovanovski in the neutral zone and slid into the Coyotes’ end, Smyth dived at the puck and sent a crossing pass that Hejduk chipped past goalie Ilya Bryzgalov.
The Coyotes tied it at 6:48 of the third, on an Olli Jokinen goal. Raycroft allowed a big rebound to a Peter Mueller shot from the right side, punching the shot away with his right blocker.
