The new guys continue to be alright for the Colorado Avalanche.
Jimmy Vesey scored his first goal with the club to help complete a comeback in regulation Tuesday night, then Charlie Coyle had the lone tally in the shootout as the Avs defeated the Vegas Golden Knights, 3-2, at Ball Arena.
The Avs are now 15-3-2 in the past 20 games, and reached 100 points for the fourth consecutive season. Colorado dominated the puck for much of the final 40 minutes in regulation and had the better chances in overtime, but did need to kill a penalty in the final minute of the extra session to reach the shootout.
“There’s been ups and downs in the games that I’ve played,” Vesey said. “We have such a good team, such a deep team. I’m just trying to stay ready and when my number is called, be able to contribute.
“I thought tonight was an up for sure.”
Neither of these teams is in any particular danger of sliding in the standings. Vegas is almost certain to win the Pacific Division. Colorado is a near-lock to finish third in the Central.
Each team getting a point increased the certainty of both of those outcomes.
“I’m seeing enough from our team when the competitive spirit kind of takes over,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “We’re still doing some good things. It seems like we’re having a little trouble getting going for these games, which I understand.”
Valeri Nichushkin scored on the power play midway through the second period. It took a lengthy review to confirm the goal. Vegas goalie Akira Schmid dove to his left and caught Nichushkin’s shot, but the officials ruled that the puck was across the line in his glove at 9:46.
It was Nichushkin’s 20th goal in 41 games this season.
Nathan MacKinnon had the primary assist on the goal. That moved him back into the outright NHL scoring lead with 116 points this season, one more than Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov.
It was also his 1,015th career point, which matches Joe Sakic for the most in franchise history since the club moved to Denver. This was MacKinnon’s 870th career game, which is also the same number of games Sakic played for the Avs after the franchise came to Colorado. Only Milan Hejduk, with 1,020, has played more for the franchise since the move.
Vesey tied the game late in the second. Miles Wood’s shot was directed behind the Vegas net, but Coyle fed Vesey for his first goal since arriving in a trade from the New York Rangers.
“I had an injury earlier in the year and I’ve been scratched a lot this year,” Vesey said. “It’s a new experience for me, and I’m learning how to stay ready.
“I wouldn’t want to say I played for the Avalanche and didn’t score. It always nice to get on the score sheet, but it’s nice for me just to able to contribute to the team.”
Vegas scored the lone goal of the opening period during one of Colorado’s two power plays. Cale Makar turned the puck over at the top of the offensive zone. He and Valeri Nichushkin were able to get back and make the Vegas rush a 2-on-2, but William Karlsson fired a shot from the right circle over Scott Wedgewood’s right shoulder at 11:10 for a 1-0 lead.
The Golden Knights took a two-goal lead just 40 seconds into the second when Brayden McNabb’s shot from the left point through traffic beat Wedgewood to the far side. At that point, the shots on goal were 9-8 in favor of Vegas.
It was all Colorado the rest of the middle period. The Avs had a 19-3 advantage in shots on net after the second Vegas goal.
Both teams were shorthanded in this contest. The Avs were missing five regulars, conjuring memories of their early-season injury woes. Martin Necas, Jonathan Drouin, Samuel Girard and Josh Manson have been out, but Ross Colton joined them. Chris Wagner was called up from the Eagles to replace Colton in the lineup.
The Golden Knights were missing their top two centers, Jack Eichel and Tomas Hertl, their No. 1 defenseman (Alex Pietrangelo) and started Schmid, the club’s No. 3 goaltender.
“We’re obviously dealing with a bunch of injuries,” Bednar said. “We’ll see who can get healthy (with three games left) and if we have the opportunity to rest some other guys. We’ve got to play it by ear because I don’t know who’s going to be healthy.
“Once you’re here and you’re getting ready for the game and you’re all dressed up, you might as well go out and try to win. We’re not just going to take it easy.”
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