sadnews: Bad day for canucks as they are close to been eliminated.
Valeri Nichushkin scored 30 seconds into overtime as the Colorado Avalanche rallied for a 4-3 comeback victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday.
Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon each had a goal and an assist for the Avs (42-20-5) in regulation, while Ross Colton also scored.
Nikita Zadorov and J.T. Miller each contributed a goal and a helper for the Canucks (42-17-8), and Ilya Mikheyev rounded out the scoring.
Alexandar Georgiev made 18 saves for Colorado, who were coming off a 6-2 win over the Flames in Calgary on Tuesday
Casey DeSmith stopped 30-of-34 shots for Vancouver as he took over the starter’s net for the injured Thatcher Demko.
The result extended Colorado’s win streak to five games, but Vancouver remains atop the Western Conference standings.
The Avs started overtime up a man after Vancouver’s Carson Soucy put a puck over the glass with 8.7 seconds left in the third.
MacKinnon’s blast from up high hit Nichushkin in front of the net and bounced in for the win.
Colorado dominated the third period, outshooting the home side 17-3.
The Avs knotted the game 3-3 midway through the frame, but needed some help from officials to confirm the tying goal.
DeSmith dove to stop Miles Wood on a wraparound, but the puck bounced out to Colton, who shovelled a shot into the goalie’s body as he lay in the net.
An extended five-on-three opportunity gave the visitors a chance to claw their way back earlier in the third after Vancouver’s Ian Cole joined teammate Elias Pettersson in the penalty box.
MacKinnon was quick to take advantage, collecting a slick pass from Cale Makar and blasting it in past DeSmith to cut the deficit to 3-2 at the 3:19 mark.
The goal extended MacKinnon’s point streak to 14 games — the longest active streak in the league. The star centre has 10 goals and 20 assists since he was last held off the scoresheet back on Feb. 10.
Colorado was 1 for 3 with the man advantage Wednesday and Vancouver went 0 for 3.
The Avs got on the scoreboard with three seconds left in the second when Casey Mittelstadt sent a puck flying off the glass and it landed at the feet of his teammate, Devon Toews. The defenceman sent a pass into traffic in front of the net and Rantanen tipped it in to make it 3-1
Rantanen now has points in 11 straight games, with five goals and 15 assists across the stretch.
Zadorov capped his Gordie Howe hat trick with a fight five minutes into the second when he dropped the gloves with Colorado’s Josh Manson.
The duo danced around each other for several moments before Manson tossed the big Canucks defenceman to the ice.
The tilt came after Manson smashed Miller into the end boards in the final minutes of the first, drawing a two-minute minor for an illegal check to the head.
