St. Paul, MN (Sports Network) - Matt Duchene tied the game in the third period and scored in the shootout, as the Colorado Avalanche edged the Minnesota Wild, 4-3, at Xcel Energy Center.

Colorado goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere turned away a backhander from Zach Parise to begin the penalty-shot tiebreaker. Birthday boy Milan Hejduk, who netted a power-play goal in the second period for his 800th career point, used the same move to beat Minnesota's Niklas Backstrom.

Wild captain Mikko Koivu, like Parise, opted for a backhander and he was also denied by the veteran Giguere. Duchene then ripped a wrister past Backstrom's blocker to seal the win.

02/14 23:04:14 ET