Strong Defensive Effort Displayed in Series Against Coyotes

The Colorado Avalanche placed an emphasis on improving its play on the defensive side of the puck prior to the start of the season and that focus has been on display.
The Avs held the Arizona Coyotes to 14 shots on goal for the second straight game and earned a 2-1 overtime victory at Ball Arena on Wednesday. The 14 shots allowed are the fewest Colorado has given up this season and the fifth fewest in Avalanche history (since 1995-96).
"I'm impressed by the way we played tonight," said captain Gabriel Landeskog. "I thought we came out in that first period and we played really good. I thought we had really good jump and all four lines were rolling and creating offense and really taking care of things in the defensive zone. I liked a lot of our game."

The Avs only allowed the Coyotes to record three shots on net in the first period, all of which came in the first 6:30 of action. Their next shot didn't come until the 10-minute mark of the second frame, 23:30 of game time later.
The Coyotes knotted the contest at 1-1 on their ninth shot of the game after the puck took a fortuitous bounce for Arizona and redirected into the Avalanche net. Colorado stuck with its game plan though and eventually secured the two points with the winner in overtime.

"It's hard not to get frustrated in a game like this," said Landeskog. "Going into the third sometimes you feel like you should be up three or four goals, but you look at the scoreboard and it's tied at one. But (Arizona goaltender Antti) Raanta had a good night, and he was seeing everything. They are a competitive team. It is close in the standings and we can't expect to get any easy games moving forward. But nonetheless, I am proud of the way we worked tonight and stuck with it."
Wednesday's effort was the 14th consecutive game that the Avs have limited the opposition to less than 30 shots. It ties the franchise record of 14 straight games without allowing 30 shots, a feat that the team last accomplished from Feb. 21 to March 22, 2001.
Colorado's plus-32 shot differential in the outing set a new franchise record, breaking the previous mark of plus-31 that was set on March 5, 1996 when the Avalanche had a 57-26 edge against the San Jose Sharks.
"I thought it was great," head coach Jared Bednar said of his team's defensive performance. "Great commitment, great effort. Good reads, closing quick. There wasn't many reads we were wrong on or slow on, and it just so happens that they got their one goal when we were… We just gave them a little bit too much time to be able to get his eyes up and find a guy streaking to the net on the backdoor. Even though [Tyson Jost] is doing the right thing trying to seal him out and keep him off the net, it just hits him and goes in.
"But we gave him a little bit too much time there, and they got rewarded for going to the net. I just kind of felt like we were doing that quite a bit too, and we just didn't get that bounce but sometimes that's how it goes. Hoping that we will get a few of those breaks here in the near future if we start shooting the puck a little bit better and a little bit quicker before the goalies get set, I think we will score a few more goals."

CAPTAIN OVERTIME

Gabriel Landeskog scored in overtime in the final minute of the extra stanza, his second OT-winner this season and the sixth of his career.
His six overtime tallies puts him in a tie with David Jones for the fourth-most OT goals in Avalanche history. Milan Hejduk owns the record with nine while Nathan MacKinnon has recorded eight and Joe Sakic had seven.

"I kind of wanted to shoot the first one but wasn't sure. Didn't want to force anything and go off his shinpad or whatever," said Landeskog. "In overtime, you want to play with possession and really pick your spots. When I came around the second time, they were a little bit lower and was able to fire one through a screen."
Landeskog leads Colorado this year with four game-winning goals, which is also tied for third in the NHL.

RETURN OF THE MACK

After missing three games with an upper-body injury, Nathan MacKinnon returned to the Avalanche lineup and had 17 shot attempts--including 10 that made it the front of the Arizona net--in 24:44 of ice time.
His 10 shots on goal are a season high, and the Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, native is tied for second in the league with an average of 4.4 shots per game.
In 20 games this season, MacKinnon is second on the team in scoring with 22 points (five goals, 17 assists).
"I mean, in my opinion he is the best player in the league and obviously when you are missing the best player in the league you are missing that offensive drive and we've really battled," Landeskog said of MacKinnon returning to game action. "Obviously he is not the only one that [was] injured right now, but really battled the last few games. You know, you look back at the last few years and how many goals is he involved in? He is a big part of our offense and a big part of everything we do out there and he is a threat every time he is on the ice. Big boost for us as a team coming into tonight, and I thought he had a great game. I think he was dominant, dominating every time he was on the ice. It's good to have him back."
It was MacKinnon's 545th career game, passing Peter Forsberg (544) for the ninth-most games played in an Avalanche sweater (since 1995-96).

MORE AVALANCHE NOTES

The Avs are 8-2-0 following a loss of any kind this season and is 8-2-2 in games decided by one goal.
The Avalanche has scored the first goal of the game 16 times this year and owns a 12-3-1 record when lighting the lamp first.
Colorado's 46 shots are a season high and the club's most shots on goal in a game since Jan. 20, 2020 versus the Detroit Red Wings (also 46).

Brandon Saad tallied his ninth goal of the campaign and ranks second on the team in goals. Each of his markers have come at even strength, tied for third in the West Division in even-strength goals.
Philipp Grubauer picked up his 13th win of the season and ranks second among NHL goaltenders in wins and seventh in goals-against average (2.05).