DENVER -- Moments after deflecting in the winning goal, Colorados Tyson Barrie did a little dance. Mike Wagner Youth Jersey . Not bad for a defenceman. The goal, that is. Although the shuffling dance steps werent bad, either. Barrie scored 55 seconds into overtime, Semyon Varlamov stopped 29 shots, and the Avalanche moved a step closer to their first playoff berth in four years with a 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night. "That was a heck of a goal," Avalanche forward Matt Duchene said. The pass was pretty good, too. Duchene dribbled the puck into the corner and sent a sharp pass at Barrie, who was standing in front of the net and tipped it past goalie Eddie Lack. "I was fortunate," Barrie said. With that, the Avs are on the verge of sewing up their first post-season appearance since the 2009-10 season. There was a scenario in which Colorado could have wrapped up a spot on Thursday, but Phoenix prevented that by beating the New Jersey Devils 3-2 in a road shootout. Colorado also remains on the heels of the Chicago Blackhawks for second in the Central Division. The Avs trail the Blackhawks by one point. "We want to finish as high as possible," said Duchene, who also scored a goal. "We arent giving anybody a break coming in." The game had a playoff feel with all the fights, thrown shoulders and scuffles in the corner. With good reason: The Canucks are trying to scratch and claw to remain in the post-season picture. Struggling just a few weeks ago, the Canucks earned a valuable point and are now five points behind Phoenix, which holds the second wild card spot in the Western Conference. But time is quickly running out for the Canucks, who have seven games remaining. "Were right there. Were still in it," said Canucks coach John Tortorella, whose team had its three-game winning streak snapped. "Were fine. Were fine in our room. Were going to keep on playing. "No bad news from me here." Daniel Sedin recorded his 800th NHL point with an assist in the first period. His twin brother, Henrik, reached that milestone on Oct. 15 at Philadelphia. Henrik didnt make the trip because of a leg injury. The Canucks showed no signs of fatigue despite playing on back-to-back nights. Vancouver kept up with the high-flying Avalanche most of the game, especially in the third period. "We were in their end zone quite a bit," Tortorella said. "We grinded. Thats a skilled team. Its a very quick team. I thought we did a really good job through the neutral zone to slow them down." Gabriel Landeskog missed a wide open net early in the second period, only to atone minutes later when he lifted a shot over the shoulder of Lack to give Colorado a 2-1 lead. The Avalanche captain has scored three times in two games. The Canucks tied it at 18:38 when Zack Kassian stopped a puck headed for the corner with his right skate, quickly corralled it and poked the puck past a sprawled-out Varlamov. Things got a little testy in the second period. It started early when Patrick Bordeleau and Tom Sestito fought. Duchene and Ryan Kesler later began shoving each other behind the Vancouver net. On the next shift, Jamie McGinn got into it with Kesler, as well. When the giant video board showed Kesler sitting on the bench, the Canucks centre made a kissing motion at the screen, drawing loud boos from the crowd. "They were playing hard," Duchene said. "They played a great game, and Varly played outstanding as usual." Yannick Weber staked Vancouver to a 1-0 lead in the first when he lined a shot past Varlamov for a power-play goal. It was his fifth goal of the season. Late in the opening period, Duchene tied it by knocking a rebound past Lack, who played for a second straight night. NOTES: Canucks F David Booth had an assist on Kassians goal, giving him four points in three games. ... Avs D Erik Johnson played in his 400th NHL game despite having the flu. ... It was Barries third OT goal of the season, tying the franchise record set by David Jones in 2010-11. ... Varlamov earned his 36th win of the season, the fourth most in franchise history. Hall of Famer turned Avs coach Patrick Roy has the record, winning 40 in the 2000-01 season. Joe Greene Jersey . Pistorius denied the allegation that he said to the close friend of the girlfriend he killed: "How can you sleep at night?" The accusation by Kim Myers provided a bizarre twist during the trial of the world-famous double-amputee Olympian, who is facing 25 years to life in prison if convicted of premeditated murder for shooting dead Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model, at his home last year. T. J. Watt Jersey .J. Barea during a three-game shooting slump that was getting him booed off his home court with regularity. http://www.steelersrookiestore.com/Steelers-Jack-Ham-Jersey/ . - Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II says the NFL has told the team it will not be docked a pick in this years draft for coach Mike Tomlins foray onto the field against Baltimore last November.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca! Hi Kerry, A question on official stat-keeping from a daily reader. In Monday nights Devils/Habs game, P.K. Subban saved his Carey Prices bacon with a couple of goal line saves. Both were shots on goal, but werent saved by Carey Price. How is that type of situation recorded by the official scorer? Love the column,Dean Graddon Hi Dean: Thanks for being a loyal reader of Cmon Ref! Prior to the NHLs implementation of Real-Time Scoring in the 1998-99 season, both a shot on goal and a save credited to the goalkeeper would have been recorded in the official stats even though a defenceman might have made the stop. The reason for this was that pre-1998, "shot-blocks," "missed shots" and a host of other statistics was not counted. There were times when I saw a shot going wide of the net but the goalie caught the puck and he was credited with a save. Some goalies paid very close attention to "shots on goal" that was visible on the time clock. Some goalies even asked me to make sure they got credit for a save when it wasnt recorded on the score clock no differently than a skater asking for an assist on a goal. In Monday nights Devils/Habs game P.K. Subban would have been credited with a "shot-block". No "shot on goal" or "save" (to Carey Price) would be listed in the official stats. I provide you with the definition of a shot: Shot: A shot on goal occurs when an attempt by an attacking player, with intent to score a goal, either results in a goal or would have entered the goal if not stopped by the goaltender. There is also a stat for "missed shots" which would involve any shot that is off the net; wide or above the crossbar even if the goalkeeper was to catch or stop the puck. Devin Bush Jersey. Judgment must be implemented by the Real Time Scorers to determine how and where to record each stat. Each off-ice crew is provided with a Situation Manual to guide them through various situations and to maintain consistent statistical recording from one NHL game to the next. Rule 37 presently outlines the duty of the Real Time Scorers to electronically record all official statistics for the game played. The five person crew located in the press box can utilize video review to confirm their record keeping decisions and are specifically assigned as follows: - Two (2) Stats Entry Scorers - Two (2) Time on Ice Scorers - Home and Visitors - Event Analyst Assigned by the League to oversee the Real Time Scorers, and the data collected is a Scoring System Manager (SSM), an off-ice official who is required to work one of the five (5) positions noted above in each game played. "Spotters" are also utilized to assist this five person crew (especially recording individual players time on ice) since the game is played at such a fast pace in Real Time. Real Time Stats are kept so in many different categories during a game they can provide instant feedback to coaches and fans alike as a tool to help analyze player performance and make adjustments. I talked with an NHL coach the other day who said his team got beat 3-1 in a game where they outshot their opponents by the wide margin of approximately 42 to 28. The GM was irate his team lost the game while the coach was pleased with his players energy level and effort. Perhaps not thinking about job security the coach response to the GM was, "We just need more players that can score." Ouch! The stats told the Real Time story in this case. ' ' '