Avs Fall in OT to Edmonton, Secure First-Round Home Ice with Point

Offensively gifted teams play defensive battle.

Early on, it appeared that Tuesday’s game between the high-flying Avalanche and Oilers was going to be a shootout with both teams finding the back of the net with frequency.

But after 60 minutes of regulation and another minute and 50 seconds of overtime, only three goals were accounted for.

And two belonged to the visitors from Edmonton.

Ben Meyers “scored” his fourth goal of the season at the 4:50 mark of the opening period. The use of quotations there is appropriate since Oilers’ defenseman Nick Bjugstad — while on his stomach — swept the puck off the inside of the left skate of d-partner Philip Broberg and between the leg pads of netminder Stuart Skinner. Meyers gets credit for the goal, but NHL.com’s official box score does a nice job of highlighting the luck of the marker with the word “OWN” in bright red letters next to his name so as not to confuse anyone as to the legitimacy of the skill required to score the goal.

It was 36 seconds later when the man brought in at the trade deadline to replace Tyson Barrie scored to pull the Oil even. Mattias Ekholm has been a transformative piece for Edmonton since being acquired on the final day of February. That continued Tuesday night in Denver as he scored the final goal of regulation with 14:32 left to play in the opening stanza.