Nathan MacKinnon scores OT winner in back-to-back games

The Colorado Avalanche entered tonight with a 8-7-3 record on the road. After an impressive 0.667 point percentage on the road last season, their road hockey has dipped below 0.500 at points this year

It’s game 39, so they’re just two games from the halfway point. The Avs are first in the Central and tied for first in points after an unlikely 5-4 win over the Dallas Stars in overtime.

It wasn’t unlikely because the Avs were weaker competition.

Colorado looked like their own worst enemy at points, but Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin led the team from the top tonight.

The pace between both teams was entertaining – especially at the start. It was good back and forth hockey.

Near the midway point in the first period, Ross Colton tried to help Sam Girard in a behind-the-net board battle and attempted to carry the puck away. It slipped off his stick blade into the blue paint and Evgenii Dadanov was perfectly positioned to reach back and bang it in.

Reasonably, Alexandar Georgiev didn’t even know to look for it there.

The Avs issued a quick response. Jack Johnson fed Miles Wood with the breakout pass and Wood took off up ice. Wood threw the brakes on entry and waited for the seam to open up around Mason Marchment to pass to Nathan MacKinnon near the top of the left-circle. 

MacKinnon skated down and backhanded the puck on net. It went off a skate in front and in past Scott Wedgewood.

It wasn’t a bad period from Colorado, but they allowed a handful of dangerous chances.

Early in the second period, Marchment angled the puck to Matt Duchene and Duchene took off in transition. Duchene got around Ryan Johansen and drove to the net. At the last second, he dropped the puck across the slot to Tyler Seguin and Seguin collected the puck from his backhand and wristed it in. Bowen Byram was caught at the net-front a bit unsure where to look.

A series of penalties put the Avs on their heels. Confusingly, Johnson was called for a double-minor high-sticking after Miro Heiskanen’s stick caught his rocker and sent him backwards.

Heiskanen didn’t appear to bleed on the broadcast, so it was unclear how Johnson got nabbed for the double-minor.

On the powerplay, Heiskanen whipped a no-look pass to Matt Duchene at the right-circle. Duchene lasered the puck across the slot to Joe Pavelski opposite of him, and Pavelski dropped to one-knee and beat Georgiev.

Late in the period, hair-on-fire Miles Wood baited Dadanov into hooking him.

The Avs received their third powerplay opportunity. With twelve seconds left, Val Nichushkin dropped the puck along the half-wall and MacKinnon picked it up and faked like he was going to drive inside but MacKinnon fed it to Devon Toews at the point. Toews wound up and fired it on net and Drouin skated to the post and got his stick inside to tap the puck in.

The second period was their weakest, so Drouin’s goal to bring them within one was timely.

It also helped them neutralize the special teams battle.

Dallas didn’t let up in the third.

At 9:05, Marchment torched Johnson along the wall on entry and completed the seam pass to Seguin in the slot. Seguin wristed the pass on net and walked right past Nichushkin to collect his rebound off Georgiev’s pads.

Forty seconds later, Drouin came up huge again.

Dallas lost the puck at center ice and Rantanen scurried off with it. They kept possession and Johnson wristed it on net from the blueline and Drouin was perfectly positioned to deflect it in.

Now back within one, the Avs pulled Georgiev and brought the extra skater on in the final minutes.

Drouin skated the puck in and together he and Nichushkin kept possession in a battle along the board. Thanks to support from Nichushkin, Makar got the puck at the point, walked the blueline, and sent the puck on net. Rantanen was at the netfront to tip it with his stick. Chaos ensued, but the puck was in.

It was the most competitive period for Colorado, but Dallas matched them.

Overtime was a bit nerve-wracking. Both teams dished high-danger chances on either side. Three minutes in, Devon Toews made an excellent defensive play to corral Jason Robertson to the outside wall, and MacKinnon swooped in and angled the puck up ice to himself.

In all alone with Toews on his trailer, MacKinnon wristed it past Wedgewood from inside the slot.

MacKinnon’s individual effort deserved to win this game: another three point night, seven shots on net, and 26:47 minutes on the ice.

He is tied for the NHL scoring lead at 64 points and is one of two players in franchise history to record back-t0-back overtime goals in the regular season.

Additionally, MacKinnon now has 59 game winning career goals – tied for second-most in Avs/Nordiques history.

But at times during the contest, it wasn’t always clear if the Avs deserved to win it.

They allowed 18 high-danger chances, 15 of which came at five-on-five.

Johansen struggled, but Colton did too. Johansen’s night ended at 12:48 and Colton spent over three minutes in his place on the second line.

Byram’s night also ended two shifts into the third period, but it’s unclear if an injury was at play. He looked unconfident tonight, and it wasn’t his strongest game.

MacKinnon’s heroics weren’t the only positive of the game either. Drouin was involved with two tying goals on the night. He has twelve points in the last eleven games and scored his 300th career point tonight.

Wood notched an assist and drew two penalties.

For the second game in a row, the Avs never once led until they won it in overtime.

Though not the easiest path to getting there, two points against the Stars meant valuable division points that stripped their rival of getting them.

The Avs return home to Ball Arena to face the Florida Panthers on the heels of their own exciting 4-1 victory over Vegas.

Florida will be feeling confident, so the Avs need to match that.