Rakell, Ducks end Avalanche's streak with late goal

DENVER --Rickard Rakell scored with 1.2 seconds left in overtime, and the Anaheim Ducks ended the Colorado Avalanche's seven-game winning streak with a 4-3 victory at Pepsi Center on Wednesday.

Rakell won it with a shot from the right circle that beat Pavel Francouz glove side. It was his first goal since Jan. 31 (16 games).
"I remember everybody was yelling at me to shoot the puck," Rakell said. "I just tried to do something quick there and get a shot off and it was nice to see it go in. We're absolutely going to take these two points and enjoy it."
WATCH: [All Ducks vs. Avalanche highlights]
Gabriel Landeskog had a goal and two assists, Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and an assist, and Francouz made 26 saves for the Avalanche (40-18-8), who are 7-0-2 in their past nine games and moved within two points of the St. Louis Blues for first place in the Central Division and Western Conference.
"They ended up getting the two (points), we'll take the one and turn the page," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. "I thought we could have used a little puck luck. I liked what we were creating, I liked what we were giving up, too, actually, through the first two periods. We needed to capitalize on a couple of those chances, even in overtime. I thought Miller played real well for them."

Ryan Miller made 32 saves for the Ducks (27-32-8), who were coming off a 6-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday.
"We talked about just staying together and trying to have a group in whatever zone we were in," Miller said. "I thought the guys did a good job tonight working together."
Vladislav Namestnikov gave Colorado a 1-0 lead at 3:51 of the first period when the rebound of MacKinnon's initial shot deflected off his body and Ducks defenseman Michael Del Zotto into the net.
Andrew Agozzino tied it 1-1 at 5:34, getting inside position on Tyson Jost and converting a pass from Carter Rowney from behind the net. It was Agozzino's second NHL goal, with his previous coming on Feb. 18, 2019, when he played for the Avalanche.
Brendan Guhle gave Anaheim a 2-1 lead at 13:40, pinching in from the right point and scoring short side off a cross-crease pass from Rakell.

Landeskog tied it 2-2 at 14:29 with a power-play goal from the right circle.
Sam Steel gave the Ducks a 3-2 lead at 12:48 of the second period. Ryan Getzlaf passed from behind the net to Steel for a one-timer from the right circle just as a power play expired.
MacKinnon tied it 3-3 at 7:19 of the third period when he skated from the neutral zone into the left circle and scored under Miller's left arm on the power play.
"Nate's been a real good team guy," Bednar said. "You understand that it's going to come for him. The team's still winning, but you know it will wear on you eventually, so I like to see him get rewarded for playing hard, playing well."

They said it

"As [Rakell] was coming by the bench, our whole bench was counting the clock for him. As he was coming up the ice, it was the whole bench literally an orchestra of 6, 5 … they were counting it down. … The communication there obviously helped, but he's a smart shooter. He's really struggled to score as of late. It's been wearing on him. To see him get rewarded like that, especially in overtime, those goals are special. We're elated for him."-- Ducks coach Dallas Eakins
"It was a tight-checking game. I don't think it was anything crazy, but they obviously have a lot of pride to play for and a lot of young guys, a lot of new guys trying to impress a new team. I thought we responded pretty good. I thought we should have won this one, but you let them hang around and you don't capitalize on your chances -- we had plenty of them -- and you end up with one point. We just have to start a new streak, I guess." -- Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog

Need to know

Miller moved past Mike Vernon into 15th place in NHL history with his 386th win. He also tied Tom Barrasso for second among U.S.-born goalies playing in his 777th game, and passed Barrasso for second among U.S.-born goalies by making his 756th start. … Ducks defenseman Jani Hakanpää had one shot and four hits in 15:08 of ice time in his NHL debut playing in place of Josh Manson, who sustained an upper-body injury against the Blackhawks. … MacKinnon moved past Alex Tanguay into seventh place in Colorado/Quebec Nordiques history with 490 points. … Landeskog has eight points (three goals, five assists) in a six-game point streak. ... Colorado is 24-for-24 on the penalty kill in its past 10 games.

What's next

Ducks: Host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday (10 p.m. ET; PRIME, TSN4, NHL.TV)
Avalanche:At the Vancouver Canucks on Friday (10 p.m. ET; ESPN+, SNP, ALT, NHL.TV)