O'Reilly's OT goal lifts Avs to 4-3 win

DENVER — Ryan O'Reilly quickly turned a forgettable game into one he won't soon forget.

The Colorado forward stole the puck at center ice, glided in and scored on a slap shot with 1.2 seconds remaining in overtime, lifting the Avalanche to a 4-3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night.

Until his winner, O'Reilly was struggling. He was stonewalled on a breakaway chance late in regulation and missed a wide-open net earlier in the game.

But with a last-gasp shot, O'Reilly turned around his frustrating evening.

"It was a lucky break for me," said O'Reilly, who scored his second career overtime goal. "I don't think I deserved a score tonight because my hands weren't there. But that's the way it goes sometimes."

With time winding down, O'Reilly took a big gamble. He reached his stick out to poke the puck away from charging Hurricanes defenseman Justin Faulk, a successful maneuver that had O'Reilly off to the races. He skated alone down the left side and, with his internal clock telling him to shoot, sent a hard liner through goalie Cam Ward's legs.

O'Reilly raised his arms as he cast a quick glance at the scoreboard, just to make sure there was still time left.

There was — 1.2 seconds to spare even.

"I don't know how he knew there was time left or if he just decided to shoot it," said Paul Stastny, who had a goal in regulation. "I think he surprised the goalie. He had so many chances on Ward tonight. He shot everywhere, so why not try another one and eventually it might squeeze in and it was a good goal."

For the Hurricanes, it was just another close call. They've earned at least a point in eight of their last nine games but still reside in the basement of the Eastern Conference.

"We're definitely on the right track," said Eric Staal, who had a goal and an assist. "We're in every game. We're playing hard. If we keep doing what we're doing, I think we'll get rewarded."

Just not here, in a city that keeps haunting the Hurricanes. The Carolina franchise hasn't won in Denver since Feb. 9, 1996, when the team was the Hartford Whalers.

"Really? That's a long time," Staal said. "But we don't come out here very often. And back in the day, they had some pretty good players with Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg, some pretty good teams.

"But tonight was a night I thought we could get it done, get that win. Unfortunately, we couldn't get the job done."