Star center Nathan MacKinnon was a late scratch Friday. Without their most explosive offensive weapon, the Avs needed a hero. Teammate Valeri Nichushkin provided just that.
Nichushkin scored twice, the latter in overtime, to erase a two-goal deficit and lift the Avalanche to a 3-2 victory over the struggling Anaheim Ducks at Ball Arena.
MacKinnon left Wednesday’s game in San Jose after taking a hit to the head from Sharks rookie Joachim Blichfeld. He participated in morning skate on Friday and Avs coach Jared Bednar said he would play but something went wrong. His teammates were made aware when they arrived for the game that MacKinnon was going to be scratched.
“The afternoon, he came down and wasn’t feeling good. The protocol says you can’t play and we’re not going to put him out there and risk him getting hurt or making it worse,” Bednar said of MacKinnon. “I don’t know what that means as far as tomorrow or the next day but I’m assuming he’s going to miss a couple games.”
Nichushkin, having already scored once, gained his coach’s trust and began overtime. The forward did not score on his first shift. But on his second opportunity and seventh shot of the evening, he closed it out to complete the comeback. Nichushkin took a pass from Devon Toews beyond the circles before skating towards the goal, past a Ducks defender and potted home the game-winner. It was his first two-goal game since last year’s playoffs.
“I thought (Nichushkin) played well. No question,” Bednar said. “I give our team a lot of credit for sticking with it and finding a way and getting a little better as the game went on, but as far as what I thought of the game, I didn’t like the game at all. It was just sloppy, too many turnovers, and we looked tired. That first game back off a road trip is tough but that was an ugly game from our team tonight.
MacKinnon was not the only big name missing from the game. He joined a list of players that missed both games in San Jose this week, defensemen Cale Makar and Bowen Byram and forward Matt Calvert. The former did not participate in morning skate but Byram and Calvert did. Goaltender Pavel Francouz and defenseman Erik Johnson remain out long-term.
Without MacKinnon, Nazem Kadri centered the top line and Tyson Jost was elevated to the second line to start the game.
Colorado stormed back to erase a two-goal deficit thanks to the momentum of a power-play opportunity. The second power-play unit was on the ice and Nichushkin was fed by Joonas Donskoi and tapped the puck past goalie John Gibson in the blue paint. Nichuhskin’s third of the season came just eight seconds after a minor penalty to Anaheim’s Cam Fowler expired.
The Avs continued to fight back before Brandon Saad put home a loose puck in the blue paint behind Gibson. The goal was the result of a hard-working play from defenseman Dan Renouf at the blueline as he fought to keep the puck in the zone before feeding Tyson Jost, who eventually got the puck on goal.
Renouf, who was playing in his fifth career game, produced his first career point.
“I was just pumped that we scored,” Renouf said. “It’s a big goal in a 2-1 game. It’s super special to get your first point. I’m glad I did but I’m happy we got that goal to make the comeback.
The Avalanche trailed 2-0 after surrendering an early second-period goal. Rickard Rackell’s tally came just two minutes after Nichushkin’s shot hit both posts on the opening shift of the middle frame. Goalie Philipp Grubauer made 26 saves, including the last 16 shots he faced after Anaheim’s second goal. Grubauer is tied for second in the NHL with 12 wins.
Colorado’s victory began what will be the longest homestand in team history. The Avs will play eight more times on home ice before their next road trip. The remainder of the road trip will be played in just 14 days.
“We have a huge homestand and these are games you want to take advantage of,” Saad said. “We started off a little slow but it’s a good bounceback character win. That definitely gets you feeling good in the right direction.”
Baby Landeskog: Captain Gabriel Landeskog was absent from morning skate as well. Late Thursday night, Landeskog and his wife Melissa welcomed his new baby boy and second child into the world.
Girard, Toews reach new highs: Defenseman Samuel Girard and Toews logged 28:41 and 28:15 of ice-time, respectively. Both numbers are career-highs. The pair continue to play big minutes since Makar and Byram have been absent from the lineup.
