DENVER — Taking on the top-ranked power play without several penalty-killing stalwarts is a tough task. The Avalanche managed to pull it off through 60 minutes, but a 4-on-3 power play for Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the Edmonton Oilers in overtime was too much to handle.
McDavid and Draisaitl both picked up the assists on the game-winner — a goal from defenseman Evan Bouchard — which gave the visitors a 2-1 victory at Ball Arena on Tuesday. Despite the loss, gaining a point in overtime was crucial for Avs to both clinch home-ice advantage in the first round and keep control of their own destiny to win the Central Division.
Colorado (49-24-7, 105 points) has a one-point advantage on Dallas with two games remaining for both clubs. The Minnesota Wild, who have played 81 games, trail by three points in third place, meaning they no longer can catch the Stars or the Avalanche.
All things considered, the Avs, coming off a four-game road trip with little rest, and missing Cale Makar, Josh Manson, Artturi Lehkonen and the captain — Gabriel Landeskog, put up a great effort. Edmonton has been the hottest team in the NHL for several months and entered the matchup with a 9-0-1 record in its past 10 games.
There were a lot of reasons why the Avalanche could’ve been defeated more dominantly and in regulation, but they collected the point they needed before finishing the season with two games against two teams that have nothing to play for the rest of the way.
“This team’s scrappy, you know. They are, they’re a resilient group,” head coach Jared Bednar said of his club. “They grind, they work, they find a different way to win every night. They’re just a competitive group. They have lots of heart, you know, that’s a good way to describe this team. They’ve gone through their fair share of adversity to this point and we’re still hanging around trying to wrap up the division and I thought tonight was no different.
“We didn’t get the result we wanted but it’s a big point. We move on and try to win the next two.”
Avs defenseman Bowen Byram was called for hooking McDavid just over a minute into the 3-on-3 overtime period. Byram was skating with McDavid but lost a step on him right before the infraction was called. He also had the game on his stick moments before but shot it wide of Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner before the puck went back the other way on the Oilers’ counterattack.
For Byram, it was a frustrating ending to a night that saw him play big minutes against Edmonton’s top stars for the majority of the game.
“He beats me up the ice but I think he also tugged on me a few times,” Byram said of the overtime penalty. “That’s just what I felt. I haven’t watched it yet so I can’t say for sure or not.”
Alexandar Georgiev was stellar once again for Colorado. In his 60th start of the season, the netminder made 38 saves, including a combined 16 saves against the top line of Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and McDavid.
“We have full confidence in him. He’s played very well this whole season,” forward Andrew Cogliano said of Georgiev. “If we have goaltending going to the playoffs like that, I think we’re in a really good spot.”
Ben Meyers scored the opening goal thanks to a fortunate bounce. After collecting a pass from Byram, Meyers skated toward the Edmonton goal but was met by a sliding Nick Bjugstad. The Oilers forward separated Meyers from the puck but inadvertently slipped the puck past Skinner using his stick. Meyers was credited with his third goal in three games, giving the Avs a lead that lasted just 36 seconds.
Edmonton answered back off a one-timer from Mattias Ekholm. The shot came from beyond the right circle, where Michael McLeod dropped the puck back for a trailing Ekholm. It was the only shot that beat Avalanche netminder Alexandar Georgiev in regulation.