Vancouver, BC – Nathan MacKinnon's remarkable five-point performance propelled the Colorado Avalanche to a 5-4 overtime victory against the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday night at Rogers Arena. Gavin Brindley sealed the win with his first-career NHL overtime goal just 68 seconds into the extra period.
The Avalanche came into the game after a dominant 9-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers, while the Canucks edged out the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3. The Avalanche now boast a league-leading record of 10-1-5, while the Canucks drop to 8-8-1.
MacKinnon opened the scoring at 6:41 of the first period, taking a pass from Valeri Nichushkin and firing it past Canucks goalie Kevin Lankinen. Just over a minute later, MacKinnon struck again on the power play, increasing Colorado's lead to 2-0. With his pair of goals, MacKinnon moved past Peter Stastny for third place on Colorado's all-time goals list with 381, trailing only Joe Sakic (625) and Michel Goulet (456).
The Canucks responded as Linus Karlsson scored his first goal of the season, roofing the puck over Avalanche goalie Mackenzie Blackwood. In the second period, Kiefer Sherwood tied the game at 2-2 with his 10th of the season.
Artturi Lehkonen put the Avalanche back in front early in the third, deflecting a shot from Brent Burns. Vancouver answered again with a short-handed goal from Drew O'Connor. Lehkonen then scored his second of the night on a rebound, giving Colorado a 4-3 lead. However, Jake DeBrusk deflected a Brock Boeser shot on the power play with just over three minutes remaining in regulation, tying the game at 4-4 and forcing overtime.
In overtime, Brindley scored the game-winner on a rebound of his own shot, securing the 5-4 victory for the Avalanche. MacKinnon assisted on the play, giving him a total of five points on the night and the NHL scoring lead with 29 points.
Blackwood made 29 saves for the Avalanche, while Lankinen stopped 27 shots for the Canucks.
Avalanche coach Jared Bednar earned his 400th career win, becoming the 42nd coach in NHL history to reach the milestone.
The Canucks were without goaltender Thatcher Demko for the second straight game. Coach Adam Foote indicated that Demko could return on Tuesday against the Winnipeg Jets.
