Jones' OT goal lifts Avs in regular-season finale
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}David Jones knocked in a rebound during a power play 3:57 into overtime and the Colorado Avalanche finished the regular season on a winning note by beating the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 on Sunday.
The game marked the farewell performance of Avalanche captain Adam Foote, who announced Friday that he was retiring after 19 seasons in the NHL, all but two with the Avalanche-Quebec Nordiques franchise.
Foote, 39, a hard-hitting defenseman, was acknowledged with a rousing ovation from the crowd after he thanked fans for their support in a clip from his goodbye news conference that was shown during a break in the first period.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Trailing 3-2, Colorado pulled into a tie at 19:30 of the third when Milan Hejduk beat goalie Nikolai Khabibulin with a shot from the slot that was set up Matt Duchene's centering pass.
In overtime, Duchene sent a shot that caromed away from Khabibulin, and Jones sent it into the net with a backhander.
Colorado snapped a four-game losing streak, but still finished with the fewest wins (30) since the team moved to Denver from Quebec for the 1995-96 season. Edmonton joined them outside of the playoffs, finishing last in the NHL for the second consecutive season.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Oilers got even at 2 on Kurtis Foster's power-play goal at 5:08 of the second period and regained the lead on Liam Reddox's goal at 12:28. Ryan Jones set up the goal when his shot got away from goalie Peter Budaj into the crease, where Reddox was able to slap it in.
Colorado's Ryan O'Reilly and Philippe Dupuis scored 50 seconds apart in the first period to give the Avalanche a 2-1 lead. Getting a feed in the slot from David Jones, O'Reilly drove the puck past Khabibulin at 4:24. Dupuis followed at 5:14, picking up a loose puck in the Edmonton zone and firing a shot from between the circles for an unassisted score.
Edmonton went on its first power play 25 seconds into the game after Mark Olver was sent to the penalty box for interference. The Oilers cashed in at 1:26 when Teemu Hartikainen's shot off a Colorado turnover got past Budaj.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}NOTES: Avalanche players gave their game-worn jerseys to randomly selected fans in the culmination of the team's fan appreciation day. ... Edmonton lost for the first time in three games in Denver this season. ... Hejduk has 756 points with the Avalanche, moving him past Peter Forsberg into fourth place on the team's career scoring list. .. Reddox's goal was his first of the season following his recall on Jan. 3.