Avalanche finally fall as Penguins win in OT

Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan believes his undermanned Penguins can beat any team right now, despite missing five of their top nine forwards.

The host Penguins proved it on Wednesday night by knocking off the Colorado Avalanche, the league’s last unbeaten team.

Brandon Tanev scored a shorthanded goal in overtime and the Penguins beat Colorado 32.

“When you have the number of injuries that we have, I think it creates a level of urgency among our group, and these guys have responded,” Sullivan said. “They never look for excuses. There’s an expectation that we can win games regardless of who’s in our lineup and that’s how we approach it.”

Tanev, Pittsburgh’s biggest freeagent pickup in the offseason, scored his first goal with the Penguins at 3:57 of overtime and joined Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux as the only players in franchise history to score an overtime goal while shorthanded.

“I saw some open ice and just wanted to get one to the net,” Tanev said. “I was fortunate enough to get a generous bounce.”

Ducks 5, Sabres 2: Adam Henrique had two goals as host Anaheim defeated Buffalo.

Blue Jackets 3, Stars 2: Zach Werenski, Sonny Milano and Alexander Wennberg scored to lift host Columbus past Dallas.

Capitals 4, Maple Leafs 3: John Carlson scored and had two assists, giving the defenseman an NHLhigh 14 points, and host Washington beat Toronto.

Oilers 6, Flyers 3: Connor McDavid had a goal and four assists and Leon Draisaitl added two goals and an assist for host Edmonton.