No matter how many times the Avs try, the Coyotes are almost never definitively conquered.
Irksome Arizona gave the Avalanche one last stressful fight Sunday, but Colorado left Mullett Arena with a dramatic 4-3 shootout win and a 3-1 edge in the season series, which is now over as the Coyotes hurdle toward their early offseason.
But none of those three Avalanche wins, all in March, were easy. Colorado (43-23-6) needed overtime in one matchup, a third-period game-winner in another and seven shootout rounds this time. Valeri Nichushkin scored the walk-off winner after Alexandar Georgiev stopped all seven Arizona shootout attempts, allowing Colorado to snag a vital second point after blowing 2-0 and 3-2 leads.
With Minnesota and Dallas both idle, the Avs drew even with the Stars in points (92). They are one behind the Wild for the division lead, with a game in hand.
Arizona’s top line had already earned Jared Bednar’s respect: The Coyotes have been regarded as a candidate in the NHL’s tanking sweepstakes almost all season, but Bednar has consistently given high praise to their top line. In Friday’s 3-1 win, the Avalanche coach moved Valeri Nichushkin to the top line, front-loading his lineup with Nichushkin, Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon all on a line together. The reason? He wanted to pull out all the stops against an Arizona top line that features Nick Schmaltz and Clayton Keller.
“That’s a dangerous line,” he said. “I don’t think they get enough credit for how well they’ve been playing recently.”
Bednar put Nichushkin on Colorado’s top line Sunday as well, but Keller still burned the Avs. With 4:32 remaining, Keller caught Alexandar Georgiev by surprise by turning and flicking a puck on goal from the faceoff circle. It beat Georgiev short-side, a stoppable shot to force overtime.
Power play Val: After Arizona scored twice in the third to erase Colorado’s 2-0 lead in the blink of an eye, Evan Rodrigues immediately drew a penalty. The Avs had a streak on the line. They scored a power play goal for the 11th consecutive game to reclaim the lead with 6:49 remaining. It was Nichushkin redirecting Rantanen’s pass across the crease.
Nichushkin hasn’t scored an even-strength goal since March 1, but he has scored three power play goals since then. Ten of his 15 goals this season are on the power play.
He was seven-deep in the team’s shootout hierarchy, even behind Denis Malgin, but he scored on a nifty move to end the game. Nichushkin, always equipped with elite celebrations, skated toward his teammates with his arms outstretched and a wide smile. Then he flicked his wrist, as if he had just made a clutch jump shot.
48 for 96: Colorado didn’t get a shot on goal for the first eight minutes of the game. After 18 minutes, the teams had combined for eight shots.
They needed an undeniable goal-scorer to step up and break the stalemate. Mikko Rantanen obliged. After 29 minutes of nothing, Rantanen gathered a puck behind the net and wrapped around to register his 48th goal of the season.
This one showcased an underrated asset in Rantanen’s game: his wrist strength. The Finnish wing’s ability to get his stick around the puck from difficult angles has allowed him to score several times, especially on plays starting behind the net or parallel with the goal line.
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