O'Connor, Colton score quick goals to live Avs past Senators, 5-4

DENVER (AP) — Logan O’Connor and Ross Colton scored 1:32 apart in a high-scoring third period, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Ottawa Senators 5-4 on Sunday night for their fifth straight win.

Nikolai Kovalenko scored his first NHL goal for Colorado, which had to survive a furious rally from Ottawa to get its second win at home. Josh Manson scored his first goal of the season for the Avalanche, who have bounced back from an 0-4-0 start to the season.

The Senators trailed 2-0 when Brady Tkachuk and Nick Cousins scored 2:08 apart midway through the third. O’Connor and Colton answered to restore the two-goal lead but Claude Giroux answered at 16:48.

Ottawa pulled Anton Forsberg for an extra skater and Nathan MacKinnon scored into an empty net at 18:45. Giroux’s second of the night made it a one-goal game in the final 13 seconds.

Senators: Ottawa has been able to score goals but not win. The Senators nearly rallied from three down Friday night in Dallas and couldn’t finish a comeback Sunday night.

Avalanche: Goalie Justus Annunen has been in net for Colorado's last four wins and has seemingly taken over the No. 1 spot from struggling Alexandar Georgiev. Annunen made 26 saves

The Senators played musical goaltenders early in the second period. Forsberg went to the bench with an equipment problem that wasn’t quickly resolved, so Linus Ullmark came in. Forsberg returned at the next stoppage but left less than two minutes later. He returned midway through the period.

MacKinnon has a point in all nine games to start the season for the second time in his career. He also did it in the 2017-18 season.

The Senators return home to play St. Louis on Tuesday night while the Avalanche host Chicago on Monday night.

AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL

Ottawa Senators goaltender Anton Forsberg waits for play to resume in the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark, right, skates out to the net to replace goaltender Anton Forsberg (31) who suffered an equipment failure in the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado Avalanche right wing Nikolai Kovalenko, right, falls after he was tripped by Ottawa Senators right wing Michael Amadio (22) in the first period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Ottawa Senators center Josh Norris, left, sweeps around the net to shoot against Colorado Avalanche goaltender Justus Annunen (60) in the second period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado Avalanche goaltender Justus Annunen waits for play to resume in the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Ottawa Senators, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

A trainer, right, follows Ottawa Senators defenseman Travis Hamonic, left, who skates off the ice after being injured in the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Samuel Girard, front, collects the puck as Ottawa Senators right wing Michael Amadio falls in pursuit in the second period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

An equipment manager, third from left, tries to repair a skate of Ottawa Senators goaltender Anton Forsberg, front, in the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Ottawa Senators left wing Brady Tkachuk, center, struggles to shoot against Colorado Avalanche goaltender Justus Annunen, left, as Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson, right, battles for position in the second period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado Avalanche right wing Chris Wagner (14) uses his stick to check Ottawa Senators center Tim Stützle (18) as they pursue the puck in the second period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado Avalanche right wing Logan O'Connor, left, is congratulated after scoring a goal by defensemen Samuel Girard, second from left, and Josh Manson, right, in the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Ottawa Senators, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar, left, congratulates center Ross Colton after his goal against the Ottawa Senators in the third period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s government accused the United States of attacking civilian and military installations in multiple states after at least seven explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard around 2 a.m. local time Saturday in the capital, Caracas.

The Pentagon and White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Smoke could be seen rising from the hangar of a military base in Caracas. Another military installation in the capital was without power.

People in various neighborhoods rushed to the streets. Some could be seen in the distance from various areas of Caracas.

“The whole ground shook. This is horrible. We heard explosions and planes,” said Carmen Hidalgo, a 21-year-old office worker, her voice trembling. She was walking briskly with two relatives, returning from a birthday party. “We felt like the air was hitting us.”

Venezuela’s government, in the statement, called on its supporters to take to the streets.

“People to the streets!” the statement said. “The Bolivarian Government calls on all social and political forces in the country to activate mobilization plans and repudiate this imperialist attack.”

The statement added that President Nicolás Maduro had “ordered all national defense plans to be implemented” and declared “a state of external disturbance.”

This comes as the U.S. military has been targeting, in recent days, alleged drug-smuggling boats. On Friday, Venezuela said it was open to negotiating an agreement with the U.S. to combat drug trafficking.

Maduro also said in a pretaped interview aired Thursday that the U.S. wants to force a government change in Venezuela and gain access to its vast oil reserves through the monthslong pressure campaign that began with a massive military deployment to the Caribbean Sea in August.

Maduro has been charged with narco-terrorism in the U.S. The CIA was behind a drone strike last week at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels in what was the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the U.S. began strikes on boats in September.

U.S. President Donald Trump for months had threatened that he could soon order strikes on targets on Venezuelan land. The U.S. has also seized sanctioned oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela, and Trump ordered a blockade of others in a move that seemed designed to put a tighter chokehold on the South American country’s economy.

The U.S. military has been attacking boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean since early September. As of Friday, the number of known boat strikes is 35 and the number of people killed is at least 115, according to numbers announced by the Trump administration.

They followed a major buildup of American forces in the waters off South America, including the arrival in November of the nation’s most advanced aircraft carrier, which added thousands more troops to what was already the largest military presence in the region in generations.

Trump has justified the boat strikes as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the U.S. and asserted that the U.S. is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels.

Meanwhile, Iranian state television reported on the explosions in Caracas on Saturday, showing images of the Venezuelan capital. Iran has been close to Venezuela for years, in part due to their shared enmity of the U.S.

Pedestrians walk past the Miraflores presidential palace after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)

Residents evacuate a building near the Miraflores presidential palace after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)

Smoke raises at La Carlota airport after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Pedestrians run after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Smoke raises at La Carlota airport after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Smoke raises at La Carlota airport after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Pedestrians run after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)