Despite a strong push in the closing minutes to extend the game into overtime, the Colorado Avalanche fell 3-2 to the Washington Capitals at Pepsi Center on Friday.

Carl Soderberg got the Avs on the board in the second minute of the game and Colin Wilson tied the contest at 2-2 with less than three minutes remaining to help the Avs earn a point in the loss. The Capitals scored an overtime, power-play tally 22 seconds into the bonus stanza.  

DENVER -- Nicklas Backstrom scored 22 seconds into overtime on the power play to give the Washington Capitals a 3-2 win against the Colorado Avalanche at Pepsi Center on Friday.

Sven Andrighetto will return to game action tonight when the Colorado Avalanche hosts the defending-Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals at Pepsi Center.

The forward has missed six outings with a lower-body injury with his last game coming on Oct. 27 against the Minnesota Wild. He also was hurt for the team's first six matchups of the campaign.

There will be a few changes to the Colorado Avalanche's lineup for this evening's contest against the Washington Capitals at Pepsi Center.

In its second home game in three nights, the Colorado Avalanche (9-6-3) returns to action at 7 p.m. MT on Friday as it hosts the defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals (8-7-3) at Pepsi Center. The clash will be the first of two contests between the non-conference foes, with the Avs traveling to Washington, D.C., on Feb. 7 to complete the season series.

Colorado Avalanche goaltender Philipp Grubauer will get the start in net against his former team on Friday when the Washington Capitals visit Pepsi Center.

Selected in the fourth round of the 2010 draft by the Capitals, Grubauer played seven seasons in the organization and 101 NHL regular-season outings. He finished his time in D.C. with a 43-31-11 overall record, 2.29 goals-against average, .923 save percentage, six shutouts and a championship after the Washington won the Stanley Cup last June.

The Colorado Avalanche and UCHealth will host their annual Hockey Fights Cancer (HFC) game on Friday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. MT against the Washington Capitals at Pepsi Center.

The HFC initiative is a collaboration between the NHL and NHLPA to honor cancer survivors and anyone who continues to battle the disease. The campaign is supported by all 31 NHL teams, each of which designates one home game in the month of November as its HFC night. The initiative has raised more than $20 million for cancer research since its inception in 1998.

In the Colorado Avalanche's matchup against the Boston Bruins, it was likely going to take more than each team's top line producing for either club to pick up the win. But it didn't hurt the Avs' cause that their top trio led the way in the comeback victory.

Colorado's No. 1 unit had three goals and six points in a 6-3 win versus Boston on Wednesday at Pepsi Center after Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen each scored in the contest. In 18 games this season, the threesome has now combined for 31 goals and 75 points--the most among any three teammates in the NHL.

DENVER -- The Colorado Avalanche scored five consecutive goals, four in the third period, in a 6-3 win against the Boston Bruins at Pepsi Center on Wednesday.

It is like a matchup of two heavyweight fighters, but in this instance it will be the Colorado Avalanche and Boston Bruins' best lines squaring off.

It is hard to argue the best trios in the NHL in the first six weeks of the season aren't Colorado's top unit of Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen and Boston's No. 1 group of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak. The threesomes are among the league leaders in scoring and will see plenty of each other tonight in a cross-conference showdown at Pepsi Center.

"It's always a challenge, I like challenges," MacKinnon said. "Whenever a top line comes to town and the top players in the NHL, it's always fun. It's our responsibility to play against those guys, and it's going to be a tough one tonight."