The Colorado Avalanche have three of the best players in the world, but this team looks even more formidable when that trio gets a lot of help from their friends.
Valeri Nichushkin and Jonathan Drouin both had big nights to get the Avs to overtime, then the “Big Three” took care of it from there. Nathan MacKinnon scored 32 seconds into overtime and the Avalanche fended off the pesky New York Islanders 5-4 for its fifth win in six outings Tuesday night at Ball Arena.
“I thought we played great,” MacKinnon said. “I thought we had a great start. I thought it was honestly a couple unlucky breakdowns … but I thought we really outplayed them for 60 minutes.”
MacKinnon’s goal, which was set up by Cale Makar and Mikko Rantanen, came after Nichushkin drew a penalty late in regulation. It was a three-point night for MacKinnon and Makar, while Rantanen added two assists.
Nichushkin’s two goals and Drouin’s two points helped the Avs rally from a deficit three times in this contest, despite dominating in both shots on goal (39-22) and shot attempts (91-44). Nichushkin’s second goal came on the power play with 7:39 remaining in regulation.
Makar’s stick exploded on a one-timer from the top of the zone, but the puck went right to MacKinnon at the side of the net. He bumped it to Nichushkin, who turned it into an unorthodox tic-tac-toe tally.
“He’s great,” MacKinnon said. “He’s a beast. It’s fun just to watch him play because he’s so big and powerful.”
Drouin has helped the Avs’ top power-play unit over the past few weeks, and now he’s finding his way on the first line as well. Drouin helped set up Colorado’s second goal in this game, which occurred four seconds after a power play expired.
Nichushkin batted the puck across the goal line after a scrambled play in front. Samuel Girard had the first shot after Drouin set him up. It was Girard’s first point in his second game since returning to the club after time in the NHL/NHLPA Players Assistance Program.
The first goal from Nichushkin made it 3-2 Islanders, and then Drouin’s tally evened the score momentarily. Drouin started the play in the defensive zone with a pass to MacKinnon. He carried it into the offensive zone, sent the puck to Rantanen and he hit Drouin trailing on the play with a wicked half slap-shot.
Drouin has 10 points in his past 10 games. Beyond the production, the skill and smarts that made him an elite prospect and productive player in his early NHL days are showing up more frequently. It would be a big deal for the Avs if Drouin can continue to play well as Artturi Lehkonen gets closer to returning in the next few weeks.
“He’s earned (my) trust because he’s playing the game the right way, with and without the puck,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “He’s doing all the right things away from the puck, so I trust him to put in all types of situations, up or down, and he’s playing well. He’s helping create offensive opportunities, for himself and his linemates.”
The Avalanche played a strong first period, save for a couple of breakdowns that left Colorado trailing at the intermission. Both Islanders goals came when a New York player got behind the home side’s defenses.
Colorado had tilted the ice in its favor for a couple of shifts before the first one. Girard whiffed on a shot from near the top of the left circle, then Pierre Engvall slipped behind him on the counterattack and scored.
Devon Toews erased the lead 32 seconds later against his former team. Makar danced his way into the offensive zone, then Logan O’Connor sent the puck from below the goal line out to the top of the zone for a wrist shot from Toews with plenty of traffic in front.
While the Avs were carrying the play, the Isles grabbed the lead with 32 seconds left in the first. MacKinnon got tangled up with Scott Mayfield away from the play and took a penalty. Brock Nelson scored 15 seconds later when he split Makar and Toews at the blue line and went in alone on Alexandar Georgiev.
Simon Holmstrom made it 3-1 just 1:09 into the second period with a long-range shot that seemed to fool Georgiev. The fourth Isles goal was a fluky one — a shot by Alexander Romanov from the left point hit Jack Johnson’s skate and changed directions.
“I liked the way our team played,” Bednar said. “They capitalized on their chances, and we were having a tough time putting ours in the net, especially in the first period. … We felt like if we kept playing the same way, fix a couple things on the defensive side of it that we would give ourselves a chance.”
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