Colorado and Buffalo entered Wednesday's game in similar positions in their respective conferences, fighting for one of the few remaining playoff spots still up for grabs.

In the end it was the Avalanche getting the win, 5-4 in a shootout, after they were just 1.9 seconds away from getting nothing.

Trailing, 4-3, with time ticking away, Jamie McGinn scored his second goal of the game -- and his seventh in eight games since joining the Avalanche on trade deadline day, coming over in a deal from the San Jose Sharks -- by banging in a loose puck along the goal line that found its way behind Sabres goalie Ryan Miller .

While McGinn gets the goal, the play was made almost entirely by an end-to-end rush by Colorado's rookie sensation Gabriel Landeskog , as he continues to make his case to be the NHL's Rookie of the Year.



Incredible. Landeskog doesn't play like a 19-year-old rookie, and has been one of Colorado's most impressive players as the season has gone on, and has not only been an impact player for the team offensively, he's also shown an impressive defensive game.

The Avalanche entered Wednesday's game tied with three other teams (Calgary, Los Angeles and San Jose) in the Western Conference playoff race and pending the result of the Phoenix-Vancouver game, could jump from 11th place all the way up to seventh place in the conference standings.

And for the Sabres? Well, that's simply a huge loss, even though they gained a point. They need wins, and can't afford to give points away like that. Following Wednesday's action they still trail the Capitals by three points for the No. 8 spot, while Washington still has a game in hand.

Goalie Semyon Varlamov stopped all three shots he faced in the shootout and pushed his shootout record to 8-0 on the season, while Peter Mueller gets credit for the game-winner in the tiebreaker.

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