STOCKHOLM — Mike Hoffman and the Ottawa Senators made the most of their short stay in Sweden.
Hoffman scored two goals to help the Senators beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 on Saturday for a sweep of their two regular-season games in the Swedish capital.
Mark Stone and Johnny Oduya also scored for Ottawa, which trailed 3-2 after two periods. Defenceman Erik Karlsson had two assists, giving the captain 17 points in 11 games this season.
"It’s huge," Hoffman said. "Both the games were close, tied till the end. Leaving Sweden with four points definitely feels good."
Oduya, a Stockholm native, drove a slap shot by Jonathan Bernier at 7:01 of the third, tying it at 3 and delighting the crowd of more than 13,000. Hoffman got the game-winning goal on a one-timer on a power play with 6:37 left.
"We were playing a real solid game," Ottawa coach Guy Boucher said. "But what was happening, there was lot of weirdness in the game, deflections … and we were missing a lot of quality, high-end quality chances."
Alexander Kerfoot and Sven Andrighetto each had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche, who have dropped three in a row. Bernier finished with 36 saves.
"For some reason, we get hesitant with the puck in the third period," Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog, another Swede, said. "That’s been the story all season long."
The two games in Stockholm were part of the 2017 NHL Global Series. It was the fifth time the NHL has played regular-season games in Europe, but the first since 2011.
The Senators beat the Avalanche 4-3 in overtime in the opener on Friday.
Colorado jumped in front in the rematch on Blake Comeau’s short-handed goal at 13:13 of the first. Comeau got free for a breakaway when he capitalized on a mistake by Karlsson at the right point.
Ottawa tied it on a fluke power-play goal just 12 seconds into the second. Hoffman chipped the puck toward the net from just past the blue line and it bounced past Bernier for his fifth of the season.
It was just the beginning of a wild period.
Ottawa’s Chris Wideman had a goal disallowed at 4:28 due to the goalie interference.
Alexander Kerfoot got the lead back for Colorado when he wristed a power-play shot past Mike Condon at 8:34. Just 42 seconds later, Stone tied it again with his 12th goal, converting a backhander after a perfect pass from Karlsson.
Andrighetto then made it 3-2 Avalanche with his fifth of the season at 10:36, prompting Ottawa to replace Condon with Craig Anderson after the goalie allowed three goals in 10 shots.
It’s not clear when the NHL will return to Europe. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in Stockholm he hoped for the league to play more games overseas but gave no details.
Nobody complained about the trip.
"We’d be more than pleased to come back and do this again," Karlsson said.
NOTES: Ottawa F Matt Duchene, who came over from Colorado in a three-team deal last Sunday, was held off the scoresheet for the second straight game with his new team. In a blow for Duchene’s line, left winger Zack Smith dislocated his left thumb on Friday and was replaced by Alexandre Burrows.
UP NEXT
Avalanche: Host the Washington Capitals on Thursday night.
Senators: Host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night to open a two-game homestand.
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