Postgame Wrap-Up: Second Period Lapse Costly

A pair of four-point nights wasn't enough for the Colorado Avalanche to overcome a deficit against the Edmonton Oilers.
The Oilers scored four times in a 7:16 span in the second period to break open Tuesday's game at Pepsi Center and eventually defeated the Avalanche 6-4.
"It's a focus that right now we're not sustaining for 60 minutes," Colorado head coach Jared Bednar said afterward. "The purpose that we played with during that stretch when we were winning was on point for 60 minutes. Right now, it's in and out, and it can't be in and out in this league. The teams are too good."

Overall, the Avs outshot the Oilers 43-26, had 28 more total shot attempts (74-46) and won 62 percent of the faceoffs (38-for-61), but Edmonton created a big enough advantage on the scoreboard to maintain the lead when Colorado tallied three times in the final frame.
"It's hard to come back from that [deficit]," said Mikko Rantanen, who finished with a goal and three assists. "The push at the end was good, but not enough time."
The Avalanche had quality looks throughout the game, including chances before the Oilers' run in the middle period, but many of netminder Mikko Koskinen's 39 saves came with unobstructed views of the puck.
Koskinen's 43 shots faced were a career high, and the Finnish keeper did enough in the first 55 minutes of the outing to push the Oilers win streak to four games and his record to 10-3-1 on the season.
"Though I didn't love our energy early, I thought we were focused and doing a lot of good things early in the game, first period. We created some nice chances. I thought their goalie was good," Bednar said. "You have to give him a little bit of credit there. He had a night. We made it a little bit easy on him on some of our good chances when we didn't get in his eyes with a net-front player. But we did have some good looks that we didn't capitalize on."

Despite having a 13-9 edge in the shot department, the Avs trailed 1-0 after the opening period. They also had the first eight shots of the middle frame but couldn't convert on any of them. The Oilers rallied off the next six and soon stretched the lead to 2-0 with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins' first marker of the game during a power play at 9:26.
Edmonton added two more before Rantanen tallied on a wrist shot from the top of the right circle, but Colorado's former Northwest-Division rival extended its lead back to four soon after.
"I'm not sure if we got impatient and being a down a goal or whatever, but it looked like we got away from the way we have to play the game," said Gabriel Landeskog, who registered two goals and two assists. "You do that against any team, especially against a team that has been playing well lately, they're going to take advantage."
MIKKO MADNESS:Rantanen had a hand in each of Colorado's four goals and has now eclipsed the 50-point mark for the season.
The right wing is the first NHL player to reach the mid-century mark this year, and he continues to lead the league in scoring with 52 points (13 goals, 39 assists) after 31 games. It is the second most points in Avalanche history following 31 contest behind Peter Forsberg's 59 points during the 1995-96 campaign.
Rantanen and Forsberg (1997-98) are also the only players in Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques history to be the first skater in the league to reach 50 points.
"You lose a game like that, it's hard to think of those things," Rantanen said of the milestone postgame. "Obviously, as I've said many times, I'm just trying to help the team as much as I can every shift. Playing on the top line, there is a lot of responsibility. It's still a lot of games and have to stay consistent."

The four-point effort tied a career high and was the third time this year that Rantanen had accomplished such a feat. He is tied with David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins for the most games with four or more points this season.
His performance also extended his career-long point streak to 12 games (six goals, 23 assists), tied with the Washington Capitals' Alexander Ovechkin for the longest active point streak in the league.
NOTEWORTHY CAPTAIN: Gabriel Landeskog's four points (two goals, two assists) were a season high and marked the third time in his eight-year career that he's had such a game.
Both of Landeskog's goals came in the final five minutes of play as the club attempted to stage a comeback.
It also extends his point streak to five games (four goals, six assists), tying a season high.

GREER RETURNS TO AVS:A.J. Greer played his second game of the season for the Avalanche after being recalled from the AHL Colorado Eagles on Monday. He started the game on a line with Colin Wilson and Gabriel Bourque.
Prior to his call-up, Greer was second on the Eagles in scoring with 21 points in 20 games. His nine goals on the year were second on the club and his 12 assists were tied for the team lead.
"The interesting note on him is I think he is playing the best hockey of his career down there… He's an impact player down there right now," head coach Jared Bednar said of Greer prior to the game. "He's playing with a lot of energy. He is physical. He is getting on pucks. He's going hard to the net."
MORE NOTES:Colorado scored three of its four goals in the third period and is tied with the Calgary Flames for first in the league in third-period scoring (47 goals).
The Avalanche's top line of Gabriel Landeskog (two goals, two assists), Nathan MacKinnon (two assists) and Mikko Rantanen (one goal, three assists) combined for 10 points (3g/7a). All three forwards factored on each of Colorado's last two goals, marking the 18th and 19th time this season that all three have gotten points on the same tally.
Rantanen has been the first player in the NHL to reach the 30-point, 40-point and 50-point marks this year.
Nathan MacKinnon's 13 faceoff wins were the most by an Avalanche player this season.