DENVER -- Defenseman Francois Beauchemin scored with 31.7 seconds left, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 on Wednesday night to spoil the return of center Ryan O'Reilly.

Left winger Alex Tanguay had a goal and an assist and goaltender Semyon Varlamov stopped 27 shots for Colorado (24-21-3).

Beauchemin's shot from the right point went off Sabres defenseman Mark Pysyk and beat goalie Robin Lehner high for his sixth of the season. Beauchemin also had an assist on Tanguay's goal.

Left winger Evander Kane scored and Lehner finished with 33 saves for Buffalo (19-24-4). O'Reilly had an assist in his first game against his former team.

Colorado picked O'Reilly in the second round of the 2009 draft, the same one in which it selected center Matt Duchene third overall. O'Reilly had 90 goals and 156 assists in 427 games with the Avalanche, and he was eligible to become an unrestricted free agent last summer.

When talks on a contract extension stalled last summer, the Avalanche traded the center, along with left winger Jamie McGinn, instead of risk losing him for nothing.

The Avalanche received defenseman Nikita Zadorav and center Mikhail Grigorenko as well as a second-round pick in the 2015 draft and the rights to University of Michigan forward J.T. Compher.

Soon after the trade O'Reilly signed a seven-year, $52.5 million contract extension that kicks in next season.

All four of the principle parts of the deal were on the ice Wednesday, and O'Reilly received a smattering of boos from the Colorado crowd.

O'Reilly nearly scored late in the first period but his shot hit the right post. He then got the second assist on Kane's power-play goal late in the second. Kane spun around in the slot and sent a shot through Varlamov's legs at 16:38.

It was Kane's 10th of the season.

After failing to score on a four-minute power play early in the third, Tanguay's backhander at 9:23 tied the score at 1-1. It was his third of the season.

NOTES: Colorado D Erik Johnson has resumed skating and is making progress, coach Patrick Roy said. "He practiced today and looked good," Roy said Wednesday. "How close he is to playing is another question. Hopefully he'll play soon." ... Buffalo LW Nicolas Deslauriers has not played since Jan. 2 because of a lower-body injury. ... Colorado C Mikhail Grigorenko centered the line with RW Jarome Iginla and LW Andreas Martinsen after being a healthy scratch for three games. He replaced C Chris Wagner, who was a healthy scratch. ... Sabres C Zemgus Girgensons missed his third straight game with an upper body injury.