COLUMBUS, Ohio – Jose Theodore made 19 of his 41 saves in the third period to help the Colorado Avalanche hold on for a 5-3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday night.

Wojtek Wolski, Brett McLean, Joe Sakic, Mark Rycroft and Brad Richardson scored for Colorado, which has won five of its last seven. The Avalanche are 18-1-2 all-time against Columbus.

Sergei Fedorov, Fredrik Modin and David Vyborny scored for Columbus, which has won once in their last seven behind a struggling offense that entered tied for the league low with 19 goals.

Trailing 4-1 late in the second period, Modin scored a power-play goal from the low slot at 18:50. Vyborny cut it to 4-3 at 14:21 of the third, skating down the right wing and snapping home a cross ice pass from Modin.

But Richardson stole the puck from Rick Nash at the Columbus blue line and skated in alone before lifting a shot over Pascal Leclaire to give Colorado a 5-3 lead. The Avalanche weathered several short-handed situations in the final period, including two 5-on-3s.

Fedorov’s first goal of the season pulled Columbus to 2-1 at 11:18 in the first but Colorado regained the momentum early in the second period. With Alexander Svitov again in the penalty box, Sakic slammed home a centering pass by Andrew Brunette from behind the net to give the Avalanche a 3-1 lead at the 4:00 mark.

Late in the period, Rycroft slid behind defenseman Anders Eriksson to chip home a long rebound from a sharp angle and under Leclaire’s arm at 15:18.

Notes: Columbus is 3-for-46 on the power play in the last seven games. … Nash is without a goal in seven games, the longest drought of his career. … The Avalanche were the least penalized team the first month of the season, but took nine penalties against the Blue Jackets.

AP-ES-11-01-06 2208EST



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