Postgame Wrap-Up: Colorado Earns One Point in Washington
Avs fall 4-3 in overtime to the Capitals
by Callie Parmele @CallieParmele / ColoradoAvalanche.com
WASHINGTON--Earning one point is better than none, but the Colorado Avalanche is not satisfied with the team's overtime loss to the Washington Capitals on Thursday.
Colin Wilson tied the game with 2:07 remaining in regulation, but ultimately the Avalanche lost in the extra frame, falling 4-3 at Capital One Arena.
"We work hard to tie it up, and we get a fortunate one off the corner," said Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog. "It's a big point but at this point we are looking for wins, not points.
"I thought at times we played really well, especially in the first I thought we dominated offensively. The second, we get into penalty troubles and obviously that gives them a lot of momentum. Nonetheless, a big goal by Willy and a point."
Video: COL@WSH: Wilson banks tying goal off Copley's skate
After a strong first period, the Avs took three penalties in the middle stanza and Washington was able to capitalize on one of those chances. Overall in the contest, Colorado went 5-for-6 on the penalty kill.
"I really liked the way we played. I liked our energy, I liked our stick-to-it-iveness," said head coach Jared Bednar. "I thought the penalties halfway through the second period--we were playing a good game, it was a good back-and-forth game--the penalties in the second period, they gained momentum out of that. They are so dangerous on the power play, they got all those pieces in the right spot and they can hurt you, and we give up the one power-play goal.
"The penalty kill got better as the night went on I thought, but the penalties kind of ruined our offensive rhythm because I thought we were doing some good things. Hanging on to pucks, first period shot attempts I am guessing were pretty high, we were getting a lot of pucks in traffic down there just couldn't come up with anything… It is definitely a big point to get, it is also a big point to lose. It is definitely something to build on I think and it should give our team a little confidence."
Video: Bednar on the loss at the Washington Capitals
In addition to Wilson's game-tying goal, Mikko Rantanen also found the back of the net in the third period. The two tallies in the final frame helped the Avalanche rally and increased the club's total number of goals in the final stanza to 70, which ranks third in the league behind the Winnipeg Jets (71) and Calgary Flames (82).
The overtime loss concludes Colorado's two-game series against the defending-Stanley Cup champion Capitals, and the Avs went 0-0-2 in the set. The Avalanche is now 13-8-3 against the Eastern Conference this year, including a 7-5-2 mark on the road.
The contest was also the first of a three-game East Coast trip for Colorado. The journey continues with afternoon outings at the New York Islanders on Saturday and Boston Bruins on Sunday. The matchup in Boston will be the Avs' final contest in the eastern time zone during the regular season.
BARRIE HITS 40 POINTS: Tyson Barrie assisted on Nathan MacKinnon's goal to record his 40th point (six goals, 34 assists) of the season. It is the fourth time in the blueliner's career that he has hit the 40-point mark.
Selected in the fourth round (64th overall) of the 2009 draft, Barrie is the highest scoring defenseman in Avalanche/Nordiques franchise history. Through 455 NHL contests, the Victoria, British Columbia, native has recorded 288 points (67 goals, 221 assists).
Barrie ranks tied for sixth among NHL rear guards in assists with 34 this campaign and is tied for ninth in points among his peers.
APPROACHING MILESTONES: Gabriel Landeskog recorded two assists in the game to bring his career point total to 397 (172 goals, 225 assists). Selected second overall in the 2011 NHL Draft, the Stockholm, Sweden, native has played in 559 career games with the Avalanche.
Mikko Rantanen scored Colorado's second goal of the game to bring his career point total to 197 (73 goals, 124 assists). It is his third season in the league, and he now ranks fourth in the league scoring race with 75 points (24 goals, 51 assists) this campaign.
MORE NOTES: Nathan MacKinnon scored a goal and now has 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in 11 career contests against Washington. His 73 points (28 goals, 45 assists) on the season rank sixth in the NHL.
Gabriel Landeskog recorded his 17th multi-point game of the campaign and his fourth outing with two assists.
Landeskog (two assists), MacKinnon (one goal) and Mikko Rantanen (one goal) combined for four points (two goals, two assists) and have now contributed 204 points (81 goals, 123 assists) in 2018-19, the second-most of any three teammates in the league.
J.T. Compher's 11 faceoff wins was a season high.
The combined 51 penalty minutes between the clubs is the most in a game for the Avalanche this season. The Avs' 30 penalty minutes is also a season high.