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Denver • Semyon Varlamov had 35 saves, John Mitchell had a goal and an assist and the Colorado Avalanche edged the Minnesota Wild 5-4 on Thursday.
Matt Duchene had two assists for Colorado, which survived a flurry at the end to get the victory. Ryan O'Reilly, Paul Stastny, Nathan MacKinnon and Maxime Talbot also scored.
It was quite a day for the 25-year-old Varlamov, who also finalized a five-year contract extension with Colorado that runs through the 2018-19 season.
The Avalanche won the season series with the Wild 4-0-1 and moved nine points ahead of them in the Central Division. Colorado has a firm grasp on third place and the final automatic playoff seed in the division.
Zach Parise had two goals and an assist for Minnesota, which went 9-4-1 in January.
The Associated Press