Avalanche 3, Senators 1: Semyon Varlamov finished with 38 saves and came within six seconds of recording his 13th career shutout as Colorado began its Canadian road trip with a victory.

John Mitchell and defensemen Andre Benoit and Nick Holden scored for the Avalanche, who improved to 21-9-2 on the road and 19-7-1 against Eastern Conference opponents. Matt Duchene added two assists.

Ottawa unleashed 20 shots in the second period, but it was former Senator Benoit who opened the scoring on a rush at 15:49. Benoit accepted a feed from Patrick Bordeleau and fired a shot in the slot over Robin Lehner, who stopped 19 shots after turning aside 43 on Saturday.

Holden banged home a cross-crease pass from Jamie McGinn with Ottawa forward Chris Neil serving a delay of game penalty 3:10 into the third period. Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog found Mitchell in front from behind the net to make it 3-0 with 2:58 remaining.

Mika Zibanejad's one-timer from the point off a turnover spoiled Varlamov’s shutout bid on the final shot of the contest. Ottawa is winless in its last three games (0-1-2) and remains seven points behind the New York Rangers for the final wild card playoff spot in the East.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Ottawa G Craig Anderson missed a second game due to a shoulder injury he suffered last Monday. … Mitchell has five points (three goals, two assists) in his last four games. … Colorado visits Montreal on Tuesday and Winnipeg on Wednesday to complete its three-game Canadian road swing.