Connor McDavid rallies Oilers past Avalanche

DENVER -- NHL scoring leader Connor McDavid had a goal and two assists in the third period, Milan Lucic had a goal and three assists, and the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Colorado Avalanche 6-3 at Pepsi Center on Wednesday.
The Oilers (12-8-1) scored four third-period goals to overcome a 3-2 deficit and extend their winning streak to three games.
The Avalanche (9-10-0), who won their previous two games, were trying to climb above .500 for the first time since Oct. 29.

WATCH: All Oilers vs. Avalanche highlights
"The team's playing well, that's all that matters," said McDavid, who has 27 points (nine goals, 18 assists) in 21 games. "When the team plays well, everyone can generate off that, and I think a lot of guys have done a great job of contributing. It's been a team effort over these last three games."
The Oilers tied the game 3-3 when Lucic put in the rebound of McDavid's shot 32 seconds into the third period for his sixth goal, and they didn't let up from there.
"We talked about taking the puck to the net more, and when we started doing that good things started to happen," Lucic said. "It's a big step for us to be able to come back from behind and get a big win on this road trip."
McDavid and Leon Draisaitl scored 65 seconds apart to give the Oilers a 5-3 lead before Jordan Eberle scored into an empty net with 14.4 seconds remaining for his second goal of the game and seventh of the season.

McDavid took Lucic's shot off the endboards and put it in off Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov for his ninth goal at 6:25. Draisaitl knocked in a loose puck from in close on a power play at 7:30 for his seventh.
"It was kind of a bang-bang play, just tried to put it there and hopefully go off something," McDavid said of his goal.
The Avalanche took a 3-2 lead at 12:56 of the second period when Rene Bourque deflected Tyson Barrie's shot behind Oilers goalie Cam Talbot for his second goal of the game and seventh of the season.
Eberle tapped in the rebound of Draisaitl's shot for a power-play goal with 10.4 seconds left in the first to tie the game 2-2.
The Avalanche took a 1-0 lead on Nathan MacKinnon's goal at 5:50, his fifth of the season. He has three goals and four assists in a four-game scoring streak.
The Oilers tied the game on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins' third goal and first in eight games at 8:45. Avalanche defenseman Nikita Zadorov's pass from behind the net went off Francois Beauchemin's stick and slid into the left circle where Nugent-Hopkins gained possession.
Bourque scored on a delayed penalty at 17:19, converting MacKinnon's pass from the slot for his sixth goal to give the Avalanche a 2-1 lead.

Goal of the game

MacKinnon skated down right wing on a 2-on-1 rush with Bourque after taking a pass from Mikko Rantanen and beat Talbot to the short side.

Save of the game

Varlamov held his ground and used his glove to deflect McDavid's shot on a breakaway at 2:57 of the second period. "I just tried to beat him with the backhand and he did a good job of reading it," McDavid said.

Highlight of the game

After Lucic shot the puck off the boards behind the net, McDavid gained possession and put it in off Varlamov."(Players like McDavid) understand where the goalie is and attack a player that's out of position," Oilers coach Todd McLellan said. "That doesn't happen by accident."

Unsung moment of the game

The Avalanche killed back-to-back Oilers power plays in the second period, limiting them to one shot, to protect a 3-2 lead.

They said it

"We're taking too many [penalties]. You're trying to ask a team to kill five, six, seven penalties a game. It's not going to happen, no team does that. Look at the penalties we're taking, lots of them are needless." -- Avalanche coach Jared Bednar, after the Oilers went 2-of-6 on power plays
"I thought [the third period] was a real good response from our team. The break between the second and third period gave us a chance to regroup." -- Oilers coach Todd McLellan
"We should have been ready for them to push in the third period. We weren't quite ready for it for some reason. You have to give them credit, but we have to bear down." -- Avalanche right wing Matt Duchene

Need to know

Avalanche right wing Jarome Iginla was assessed two minor penalties, giving him 1,001 career penalty minutes to go with 613 goals. He's the ninth player in NHL history to have more than 600 goals and 1,000 penalty minutes ... Lucic's four-point game tied his career high ... The Oilers were 0-6-1 when trailing after two periods before Wednesday ... The Avalanche were 4-0-0 when leading after two.

What's next

Oilers: At the Arizona Coyotes on Friday (9 p.m. ET; FS-A, SNOL, NHL.TV)
Avalanche: Host the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, ALT, NHL.TV)