Coyotes get past Avalanche on late goal

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Brad Richardson scored the tiebreaking goal with 3:39 left in the third period, and the Arizona Coyotes recovered after blowing a three-goal lead to win 6-4 against the Colorado Avalanche at Gila River Arena on Saturday.

Richardson picked up a loose puck near the blue line and scored on a wrist shot to make it 5-4 before scoring an empty-net goal with 12 seconds remaining to make it 6-4.
"I literally tried to shoot as quick as I could on that (game-winning goal). It went through I think two of their guys, maybe Avalanche defenseman Ian Cole] legs, and I don't think [Pavel Francouz] saw it at all," Richardson said. "It just surprised him. It felt good to get that right after they scored."
[WATCH: [All Avalanche vs. Coyotes highlights]
Alex Kerfoot scored two goals, and Gabriel Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon scored for Colorado (19-12-6), which is 3-6-1 in its past 10 games. Philipp Grubauer allowed four goals on 16 shots. He was replaced in the second period by Francouz, who made 21 saves in his NHL debut.
Conor Garland scored his first NHL goal, and Richard Panik and Derek Stepan each had a goal and an assist for Arizona (15-18-2), which had lost three consecutive games and seven of its past eight (1-7-0). Adin Hill made 24 saves.

"We were actually pretty calm (when Colorado rallied from down 4-1)," Garland said. "We knew we were going to get a little push there and try to get one. … [Richardson's] goal was huge."
Landeskog scored a power-play goal at 5:22 of the third period to make it 4-2, and Kerfoot scored on a backhand in the slot at 7:39 to cut it to 4-3.
MacKinnon tied it 4-4 at 11:51, faking a shot at the blue line, getting around Coyotes forward Alex Galchenyuk and scoring from the high slot.
"We have to learn how to bring that every single night, right from the drop of the puck," Landeskog said. "We were a little bit sluggish and didn't execute in the first two periods, but the way we played in the third, that's the way we've got to bring it every night."

Panik gave Arizona a 1-0 lead at 8:58 of the first period, but Kerfoot tied it 1-1 with a backhand on a loose puck in the crease at 18:13.
Stepan scored his second goal in 15 games to make it 2-1 at 19:55.
Christian Fischer extended the lead to 3-1 at 2:30 of the second period, and Garland made it 4-1 with a wrist shot from the slot off a stretch pass from Mario Kempe. Ilya Lyubushkin had an assist on the goal for his first NHL point.
"I'm proud of the guys. We had a lot of adversity but we hung in there," Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said. "[Richardson's line] did a great job against their top line (Landeskog-MacKinnon-Mikko Rantanen). They're tough to defend. They're a world-class line and they win a lot of games for that team."

Grubauer made his third start in four days because Semyon Varlamov missed the game with an illness, and Francouz was called up from Colorado of the American Hockey League hours before the game.
"It really was a crazy day today. When I woke up I didn't know I would be part of this team," Francouz said. "Everything went so fast. I just didn't have time to think much. We were losing 4-1 there so there was nothing for me to lose."

They said it

"It was just a matter of not executing, not talking, not wanting the puck and not supporting one another. I know it sounds cliché, you can't play 1-against-5 out there. You've got to make sure you're talking and supporting each other, and everybody's got to want to have the puck and make plays." -- Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog on the first two periods
"I don't think we played that bad. There were some weird plays and we got tied up, but we were able to come back and get it. Overall, we played a really good game, but they just had some good bounces, I thought." -- Coyotes forward Brad Richardson

Need to know

Rantanen had an assist and has 30 points (nine goals, 21 assists) in his past 18 games. … Avalanche forward Colin Wilson is out multiple weeks after sustaining a lower-body injury Friday against the Chicago Blackhawks. … Arizona had scored two goals in its previous three games. … Colorado has allowed at least four goals in seven of its past 10 games. … Clayton Keller had an assist and has 91 points (31 goals, 60 assists) in the NHL, the most by a player before his 21st birthday in Coyotes history.

What's next

Avalanche:At Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday (10 p.m. ET; ATTSN-RM, ALT, NHL.TV)
Coyotes:At San Jose Sharks on Sunday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, FS-A PLUS, NHL.TV)