Varlamov stands firm to help Avs overcome Kings Tue Jan 3, 2012 1:55am EST (Reuters) - Semyon Varlamov made 31 saves and defied the Los Angeles Kings in the shootout to provide the foundation for the surging Colorado Avalanche's 2-1 victory on Monday. Varlamov was unable to prevent Dustin Brown from scoring early in the second period as the Kings took a 1-0 lead, but he was perfect the rest of the way to keep the Avs involved in the contest long enough to steal victory. Ryan O'Reilly tied the game for Colorado at 14:17 in the third before they survived a scoreless overtime and got a winning shootout goal from Milan Hejduk, the only one allowed in the session. It was the eighth win in nine games for the Avalanche (22-18-1) while Los Angeles (19-14-7) remained one point ahead of San Jose at the top of the Pacific division despite the loss.