EDMONTON, Alberta — This was one of those weird situations in which the winner could end up being the offseason loser.
The Avalanche and Edmonton Oilers are the two worst teams in the NHL this season, so their game Saturday night had some, ahem, special significance.
Fittingly, the latest installment of the Turtle Derby went into a shootout.
Ryan Stoa settled the debate in the fourth round with a backhander against Nikolai Khabibulin.
A 3-2 decision gave Colorado its first win in more than two months over an NHL opponent not named St. Louis and goalie Brian Elliott his first win with the Avs.
“It took awhile,” said Elliott, who joined the Avs in a Feb. 18 trade with Ottawa. “It’s tough when you don’t get wins. It’s tough on the mind and even on the body. It wears on you a bit. You have to keep positive. It finally came and, hopefully, we can keep it going and put together some wins at the end of the season. We’ve played well for the most part in the last few games but weren’t getting the results we wanted.
“It’s a happy feeling.”
Stoa remembered what he did wrong on a good first-period chance.
“Ellie made three big saves there and gave me a chance to win it,” Stoa said. “I had a partial breakaway in the first and decided to shoot, so this time I was thinking ‘deke’ the whole time. I had that in the back of my head.”
That gave the Avalanche a comfortable six-point cushion in this season’s sad-sack race with 11 games to play (10 for Edmonton).
The free-falling Avs snapped a 10-game losing streak, and Saturday night’s win was only their second in their last 22 starts.
“It’s a good feeling,” Avs coach Joe Sacco said. “It’s been a difficult time lately, no question. To get that weight off your shoulders feels good. The players, obviously, feel pretty good right now. We can take a deep breath again, go back to work and win some games, put a streak together so we can finish the season off strong.
“It’s a big lift. Our players for the most part have worked hard. There’s so much parity in this league. Sequences like this don’t happen without a major reason. We’ve had to deal with some adversity that’s been hard for us to overcome. Hopefully, tonight is a step in the right direction.”
A spirited brawl between Erik Johnson and Edmonton’s Ryan Jones 11 seconds into the tilt seemed to give the Avalanche an early spark.
The Avs carried the play until Matt Duchene made a brilliant individual effort to give Colorado a 1-0 lead at 9:47 of the first to extend his scoring streak to four games.
The teams traded goals in the second with Jordan Eberle tying the game before Kevin Porter put the Avs up again.
Kurtis Forster tipped in the puck with 3:50 left to force overtime.
Considering neither team is expected to beat anybody but each other, this race appears to be done.
Avs Recap
The Post’s three stars
1. Matt Duchene.
Avs forward had a goal and an assist.
2. Jordan Eberle
Edmonton center best player on the ice.
3. Kevin Porter.
Scored the game-winner for the Avs.
What you might have missed
Before Saturday night’s game, Avalanche starting goalie Brian Elliott’s previous win was on Feb. 12 against the Oilers, when Elliott was a member of the Ottawa Senators.
Up next
Columbus at Colorado, Tuesday, 7 p.m., ALT
