Avs Fight Back From Deficit But Fall In Overtime

When a team finds itself with a deficit on the scoreboard, it has to be able to respond and work its way out of the hole to find success.
The Colorado Avalanche were able to overcome a multi-goal deficit on Tuesday but fell 4-3 in overtime to the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena.

The Avs were trailing 2-0 at the first intermission but found the back of the net three times in the second period to take a 3-2 lead into the final frame.
"Tonight, I think was a big step as far as being able to come from behind and being able to ignore the scoreboard and just go out there and play, which is what we did" said Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog. "I do feel like we got some more left in the tank though, and I feel like we can do better as far as special teams and things like that. We had some chances on the power play in the third as well, so things to clean up, but we are looking to build off of this going on the road."
The contest marked the fourth of the Avs' season-long, six-game road trip, a journey that kicks off a stretch that has Colorado playing 13 of its next 16 away from home.
"We got to find a way to get the job done on the road. I feel like our group came a long way over the last 15 games, but now the pressure is going to start getting turned up," Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said. "We got to find a way to get the job done, we still have some room for improvement, for sure. We are a young team and trying to figure out how to win on the road, now especially.
"[Coming up we have] some tough matchups and some tough buildings to come into. It's not that I didn't like our start tonight. I thought our start, we had some good energy and stuff, we just made some mistakes with the puck and they made a couple plays and got some chances and took an early lead."
The Avs had an 11-8 edge in shots on goal at the end of the first period, as well as a 19-13 advantage in shot attempts, but they still found themselves trailing.
"Obviously a little bit of frustration that it happened so quick, that they got their first two goals there," Landeskog said of the Canucks' early lead. "But at the same time, we talked about it's a breakaway and a perfect shot from the blueline, so I feel like we did some good things in the first period as well. The result and the start isn't what we wanted, but we just wanted to keep going and obviously we had a big second."
Colorado was able to take advantage of its three power-play opportunities in the second period to fight its way back into the game.
Rookie J.T. Compher got the Avs on the board 15 seconds after Colorado's first man-advantage chance expired. He buried a rebound off of an Erik Johnson shot after the puck bounced off of Canucks goaltender Jacob Markstrom's mask and right to Compher in front.
Landeskog scored the Avalanche's next two goals, with his second tally coming on the power play as he got his own rebound to give the Avalanche a 3-2 lead.

The Canucks tied the game early in the third off of a man-advantage tally of their own that came just as a 5-on-3 was ending.
"It felt like they were feeding off of that tying goal a little bit and ice was tilted their way a little bit in the third there," said Landeskog. "But, I think we did a good job as far as coverage goes. And 3-on-3 is the way it is."
Although it may be frustrating for the Avalanche to come out of the game with just one point, every point matters in the tight Western Conference standings.
"We obviously didn't have the start we wanted, we were down two and we did a really good job in the second period," said defenseman Tyson Barrie. "We knew it was going to be a tight one in the third, and they got that power-play goal. Obviously it would have been nice to hold on and get the two points here."
Six teams in the Western Conference have 58 or 59 points, and Colorado is one of the clubs with 58 on the season. The Avs sit one point out of the second wild-card spot with at least one game in hand on four of the five other teams.
"Two is nice but one is still big. I mean you look at the standings, and we got two more big games here coming up on this road trip," said Barrie. "We just got to turn the page on this one. We got some momentum throughout the game in the second, third period. We know where we are at, and we will be ready for Edmonton."
Colorado continues its trip on Thursday at the Edmonton Oilers and will finish the road swing on Saturday at the Winnipeg Jets.

MacKINNON INJURY UPDATE

Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon left the game during the second period with an upper-body injury and was not able to return.
"I really don't know timeline," Bednar said of MacKinnon. "It's upper body, and I don't know if its day-to-day or not. We will have to talk to the trainers, and we will probably know more on it tomorrow."
MacKinnon is second in the NHL in scoring with 61 points (24 goals, 37 assists) and leads the Avs in all three scoring categories.
Since Oct. 28, he has centered the Avs' top line with left wing Gabriel Landeskog and right wing Mikko Rantanen, and the trio had combined for 53 goals, 72 assists and 125 points going into the game at Vancouver.
Vancouver, British Columbia, native and Avalanche rookie forward Alex Kerfoot took MacKinnon's spot on the top line following the injury and logged 17:24 of ice time.
"He was awesome tonight," Barrie said of Kerfoot. "I thought he was the best player on the ice. Every time he was on the ice he was making plays, moving his feet. It's nice to see because he is a great guy and I know he has a lot of friends and family here, so I was happy for him."

BARRIE RETURNS

After missing Colorado's last 13 games with a broken hand, Tyson Barrie recorded an assist in his return to game action.
"I could definitely feel the timing was off in the first period," he said. "I felt a little rusty and I was a little nervous honestly to comeback, but I kind of settled into it. It was a big point for us, but I mean it's a disappointing one to drop the extra one."
The blueliner started the game while paired with Anton Lindholm on defense. Barrie has 28 points (four goals, 24 assists) in 35 games this season.

UPDATE ON NIETO

Avalanche forward Matt Nieto did not play in the contest as he was out with a lower-body injury.
"Before the game he put his skate on and wasn't able to go," said Bednar. "Skated fine and everything this morning, but wasn't able to go here come game time. He got hit with a puck this morning, I don't know the severity of that one either. Hopefully that is day-to-day as well."
Nieto has been on a line with Blake Comeau and Carl Soderberg for much of the season and has nine goals and eight assists in 41 outings.