Avalanche Defeats Canucks with Thrilling 4-3 Comeback
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By Doug Hirdle
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Summary:
- The Colorado Avalanche have defeated the Vancouver Canucks after a 4-3 comeback.
- Nichushkin scored 30 seconds into overtime on Wednesday.
- Avalanche has a win streak of five games while the Canucks stay atop the Western Conference standings.
The Colorado Avalanche met with the Vancouver Canucks at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver on Wednesday, and it was a spectacular hockey game.
Victory Came During Overtime
Just 30 seconds into overtime, Valeri Nichushkin partially blocked and deflected a MacKinnon slapper off his visor, carrying his team into a victorious night with a 4-3 comeback victory against the Canucks.
The assist represented MacKinnon’s 115th point off the season.
Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet who replaced Bruce Boudreau commented on the overtime events, saying
MacKinnon started to fly and we just couldn’t get anybody to grab hold of a puck, whether on the forecheck or breakout, to slow things down. We were a little hot potato and we were kind of soft on the puck.
The Avalanche was also helped by Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon, who each scored a goal and had an assist for the team (42-20-5) in regulation.
They were joined by Ross Colton (pictured) on the list of players who scored.
The Canucks had Nikita Zadorov and J.T. Miller as helpers (42-17-8) while Ilya Mikheyev rounded out the final scoring.
While Casey DeSmith replaced injured Thatcher Demko at the starter net and stopped 30 out of 34 shots for the Canucks, Alexandar Georgiev counted no less than 18 saves for the Avalanche.
Five Games’ Win Streak for Avalanche
The team, which was coming off their 6-2 win against the Flames in Calgary the day before, is now on a five-game win streak thanks to the new victory.
At the same time, the Canucks are still atop the Western Conference standings.
The Avalanche went into overtime up a man after Canucks’ Carson Soucy put a puck over the glass while the clock was showing just 8.7 seconds left in the third.
The Avalanche clearly dominated the third period, managing to outshoot the home side 17-3 then knotting the game 3-3 midway through the frame.
The tying goal required official confirmation.
The Canucks will carry on with a nine-game homestand against the Washington Capitals on Saturday at the Rogers Arena while the Avalanche will confront the Oilers in Edmonton on the same night.
