Matt Duchene had a two goals and an assist, Ryan Dzingel added a goal and an assist and the host Ottawa Senators beat the Colorado Avalanche 5-2 on Wednesday night.

Brady Tkachuk and Mark Stone also scored while Anders Nilsson made the goals hold up with 30 saves for Ottawa.

Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and an assist, Nikita Zadorov scored a goal and Mikko Rantanen added two assists for Colorado. Semyon Varlamov stopped 26 shots for the Avalanche, who finished their five-game road trip 1-4.

The Senators came into Wednesday with 39 points, fewest in the NHL, but have now won three of their last four. Nilsson, acquired from Vancouver on Jan. 2, has been in net for the recent surge. He was sharp early in the third period when Colorado was pressing for a goal.

Ottawa got on the board after a scoreless first period with two quick goals to start the second. Tkachuk was standing in front of Varlamov when Chris Tierney's shot bounced off the goaltender. Tkachuk knocked it in for his 11th of the season at 2:06.

Stone's goal at 3:13, his 21st of the season, made it 2-0. Ottawa made it a three-goal lead when Duchene and Thomas Chabot moved the puck quickly around the Colorado zone to Dzingel at the doorstep, and he knocked it in for his 19th goal at 9:01.

Colorado got one back late in the period when MacKinnon passed to Zadorov at the point, and the big defenseman's one-timer beat Nilsson high for his fourth goal of the season at 18:53.

Duchene, who returned after missing three games for the birth of his son, put in a rebound at 7:49 of the third to make it 4-1.

Colorado went on the power play with 4:47 left and pulled Varlamov for a sixth skater. MacKinnon's goal at 16:01 cut it to 4-2. The Avalanche got another power play, and Varlamov went off again, but they but couldn't score.

Duchene score into an empty net at 18:58. It was his 20th goal of the season.

--Field Level Media