Rapid Recap: Avalanche 4, Oilers 1

Matt Nieto, Nathan MacKinnon and Logan O'Connor all scored in a 2:32 span in the third period to help lead the Colorado Avalanche to a 4-1 victory against the Edmonton Oilers at Pepsi Center on Wednesday.
O'Connor's tallied on a backhanded shot that went past goalie Mikko Koskinen and into the top corner of the net for his first career NHL tally and his first point in the league.
Nazem Kadri also scored for the Avs and Philipp Grubauer made 19 saves. Joonas Donskoi had two assists in the win while Ian Cole, Ryan Graves, Calle Rosen and Valeri Nichushkin all had a helper each.
Colorado outshot Edmonton 50-20 in the contest. It marked the seventh 50-shot performance since the franchise moved to Denver and the first since April 4, 2017 versus Chicago (51).
The Avs held the Oilers to seven combined shots in the second and third periods after allowing 13 in the first frame. It is the most shots the Avalanche has put on net and the fewest that it has allowed this season.

The Avs are now 7-3-1 at home this year. Colorado is 13-3-1 in its last 17 regular-season home games, and if you include the playoffs, the Avs have gone 17-4-1 in their last 22 outings at Pepsi Center.
Jujhar Khara scored and Koskinen made 46 saves for Edmonton.
Statistics
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Notes & Quotes
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Highlights
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Video: Coach Bednar Postgame

THE GOALS

1st Period
13:17 EDM (0-1) - Jujhar Khara opened the scoring with a backhanded shot on a wraparound chance.
2nd Period
10:50 COL (1-1) - Nazem Kadri tallied on an odd-man rush with a shot that beat Edmonton goaltender Mikko Koskinen on the glove-side.
3rd Period
3:05 COL (2-1) - Matt Nieto gave Colorado the lead after a two-on one rush with Nathan MacKinnon.
4:07 COL (3-1) - Nathan MacKinnon redirected a puck between an Oilers defender's legs and into an open net.
5:37 COL (4-1) - Logan O'Connor scored his first career NHL goal with a backhanded shot after Valeri Nichushkin found him alone in the slot.
Final: Avalanche - 4 | Oilers - 1

3 STARS

Selected by Colorado Hockey Coach of the Game: Karl Rodriguez (Arvada Hockey Association)

POWER PLAYS

Colorado: 0 for 5
Edmonton: 0 for 1

GOALTENDING BATTLE

Colorado: Philipp Grubauer made 19 saves in the win.
Edmonton: Mikko Koskinen stopped 46 of 50 shots.

STAT OF THE NIGHT

Logan O'Connor scored his first career NHL goal--which was also his first point in the league--to give the Avs a 4-1 lead in the third period. He is the 19th Avalanche player to find the back of the net this season and the second in 2019-20 to record his first NHL tally (Cale Makar).

NOTEBOOK

Nazem Kadri had a goal in the outing and now has nine points (three goals, six assists) in the last nine games… Calle Rosen recorded his first point as a member of the Avalanche with a helper on Kadri's tally… Matt Nieto netted his fifth goal of the campaign, surpassing his season total from last year… Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and an assist to extend his current point streak to five games… MacKinnon now has 18 points (eight goals, 10 assists) in 12 contests this month. He has tallied 105 points (39 goals, 66 assists) in 92 career games in November, with his highest total coming in 2018-19 when he produced 23 points (nine goals, 14 assists)... Ian Cole had a helper on MacKinnon's marker and now has 99 career NHL assists… Joonas Donskoi (two assists) recorded his fifth multi-point game of the year… The Avs limited Edmonton to just two shots on goal in the third period, the fewest Colorado has allowed in a period (not including overtime) since April 2, 2017 at Minnesota (third period)... The Avalanche has scored four or more goals in six of its 11 home games this season. Its 3.82 goals-per-game average at Pepsi Center is tied for fourth (Florida) in the league in goals-per-game average on home ice... Colorado finished 64.6 percent on faceoffs, its best faceoff win percentage in a game this season and best since April 4, 2017 vs. Chicago (64.7 percent).

QUOTABLE

Logan O'Connor on his first NHL goal:"That's a great feeling. I mean, that's something you sort of dream of your whole life so to have that happen tonight and get the win on top of that, it was definitely nice."

BIG HIGHLIGHT

IMAGE OF THE GAME

It's go time.

ROSTER REPORT

Calle Rosen played his first outing with the Avalanche and ninth career NHL contest… He began the game on a defensive pairing with Samuel Girard. The other duos were Cale Makar with Nikita Zadorov and Ian Cole with Ryan Graves… Erik Johnson missed his first game of the season with a lower-body injury. Philipp Grubauer started the game in net... Mark Barberio was a healthy scratch.

INJURY UPDATE

Andre Burakovksky did not play the third period and is out with an upper-body injury... Erik Johnson missed the contest with a lower-body injury and will be out the next "handful of games"… Mikko Rantanen returned to being a full-contact participant in practice on Tuesday, and head coach Jared Bednar said he is likely to return to game action on Saturday against the Blackhawks… Gabriel Landeskog is making progress as he recovers from his lower-body injury, but Bednar does not have a timetable for his return… Matt Calvert (head) and Colin Wilson (lower body) remain out.

UP NEXT

Colorado has a back-to-back, home-and-home set with the division rival Chicago Blackhawks that begins at United Center on Friday at 2 p.m. MT. The Avs host the Hawks on Saturday night.

LINE COMBINATIONS

Based on start of the game
Forwards
95 Andre Burakovsky - 29 Nathan MacKinnon - 72 Joonas Donskoi
17 Tyson Jost - 91 Nazem Kadri - 37 J.T. Compher
83 Matt Nieto - 41 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - 13 Valeri Nichushkin
25 Logan O'Connor - 81 Vladislav Kamenev - 36 T.J. Tynan
Defensemen
16 Nikita Zadorov - 8 Cale Makar
48 Calle Rosen - 49 Samuel Girard
27 Ryan Graves - 28 Ian Cole
Goaltenders
31 Philipp Grubauer
39 Pavel Francouz