Cale Makar scored the tiebreaking goal with 40.1 seconds left in regulation, and the Colorado Avalanche extended their point streak to 14 in a row with a stunning 2-1 victory over the visiting St. Louis Blues on Saturday night in Denver.
After St. Louis failed to clear the puck out of its own zone, Makar picked it up off the board and drilled a slap shot that deflected off the stick of St. Louis defenseman Jaden Schwartz and found its way past Blues rookie netminder Ville Husso (32 saves) to break a 1-1 tie in the waning seconds of the contest.
Nathan MacKinnon, who scored twice in Friday's 3-2 victory over St. Louis, had another goal and Philipp Grubauer made 27 saves for the West Division-leading Avs, who are amid a 12-0-2 stretch -- the second-longest point streak in club history. Colorado is also 11-0-1 in its last 12 at home.
Ryan O'Reilly scored for St. Louis, which is mired in a season-high 0-5-1 rut, and has dropped four straight on the road.
After Colorado scored within the first four minutes of Friday's contest, St. Louis was the aggressor early and recorded the game's first seven shots on goal. However, the Avalanche's offense woke up, and with 8:33 left in the opening period, MacKinnon struck from the right of the dot in the near circle for a 1-0 lead.
The Blues, though, tied things with 1:57 left in the opening frame. Seconds after St. Louis' power play ended, O'Reilly managed to get enough of his stick on the puck amid some heavy traffic in front of the Colorado net to get it by Grubauer.
Though neither team scored in the second period, St. Louis' Robert Thomas and Colorado's Nazem Kadri failed to convert breakaway attempts during the frame. Husso was particularly sharp with several key saves in the second.
--Field Level Media
St. Louis | Colorado | |
Ryan O'Reilly 1 | Points | Nathan MacKinnon 1 |
Ryan O'Reilly 1 | Goals | Nathan MacKinnon 1 |
David Perron 1 | Assists | Gabriel Landeskog 1 |
N/A | Power Play Goals | N/A |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Ville Husso .941 | Save Percentage | Philipp Grubauer .964 |
Ville Husso 32 | Saves | Philipp Grubauer 27 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
St. Louis | 28 | 1 | 0-3 | 4-4 | 13 | 27 |
Colorado | 34 | 2 | 0-4 | 3-3 | 11 | 29 |