Avalanche defeat Maple Leafs in overtime to spoil Pickard debut

DENVER -- J.T. Compher scored a power-play goal with 1:35 remaining in overtime to give the Colorado Avalanche a 4-3 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Pepsi Center on Friday.
Connor Brown was in the penalty box for interference against Nathan MacKinnon, who had a goal and two assists.

WATCH: [All Maple Leafs vs. Avalanche highlights]
Defenseman Samuel Girard prevented the puck from exiting the zone and passed to Compher, who skated into the slot and beat Calvin Pickard with a wrist shot for his seventh goal.
"You want to try and end it when you have a power-play opportunity in overtime, and we were able to do that," Compher said.
The win spoiled Pickard's season debut and return to Pepsi Center, where played for Colorado from 2014-17. He was recalled from Toronto of the American Hockey League because Curtis McElhinney has a lower-body injury.

Pickard and MacKinnon are good friends, and they talked to each other throughout the game.
"We were kind of jawing at each other, all fun and games," said Pickard, who made 24 saves. "It's good to see him doing well. It was definitely a well-earned point for us."
Said MacKinnon: "It was fun. He's definitely a different goalie. He's loose in the net, he's always fun to talk to. He's a good buddy of mine and I definitely miss him here."
Alex Kerfoot and Mikko Rantanen also scored for the Avalanche (18-16-3), who are 1-1-0 in the first two of a six-game homestand. Semyon Varlamov made 31 saves.
James van Riemsdyk, Roman Polak and Matt Martin scored for the Maple Leafs (23-14-2), who have gone 2-1-1 in the first four of a five-game road trip.
Pickard was off for an extra skater when van Riemsdyk scored his 17th goal to tie the game 3-3 with 1:55 remaining in the third period.
"Anytime you can get a point, it's big," van Riemsdyk said. "Obviously, we'd like to get the second one. [Brown's penalty] was kind of a little debatable call, I thought, but that's the way the game goes sometimes."

Kerfoot put the Avalanche in front 3-2 at 4:34 of the third period with his 10th goal. Nikita Zadorov passed to Kerfoot in the right circle for a shot to the far corner after MacKinnon maintained possession along the boards.
"MacKinnon, when he's on like that, he's a lot to deal with for opposing teams," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "Tonight, he was great."
The Avalanche took a 2-1 lead on Rantanen's 12th goal at 10:29 of the second period. MacKinnon outmuscled Brown for the puck behind the net and passed to Rantanen in the slot for a shot over Pickard's left arm.
"It was a great pass from Nate, a no-look pass from behind the net, and I was all alone in front of the net," Rantanen said. "I was pretty close to the goalie so I just tried to go high and it went in."
The Maple Leafs tied it 2-2 on Polak's second goal at 14:04. Polak beat Varlamov with a shot on the goal line to the right of the net after Patrick Marleau won a face-off.
MacKinnon put the Avalanche ahead 1-0 with his 16th goal at 11:24 of the first period, matching his total of last season. Gabriel Landeskog dumped the puck in off Pickard, who failed to control it. MacKinnon stepped around him and swept the puck into the open net.
The Maple Leafs tied it 1-1 at 14:55 on a goal credited to Martin, his third. He slid the puck in front from the end boards and it went in off the right skate of Colorado's Blake Comeau, who was defending Dominic Moore.

Goal of the game

Compher's goal at 3:25 of overtime.

Save of the game

Varlamov stops William Nylander at 12:48 of the third period.

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Highlight of the game

van Riemsdyk ties the game with 1:55 left in the third period.

They said it

"It's a big game. It's always fun and exciting playing against big-market teams. Playing against [Auston] Matthews as well, it was fun. There's only 10-to-12 in the league that you really get pumped up for to play, that you get matched up against. It was a fun matchup." -- Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon
"I'm friends with a lot of guys over there, and it's my first NHL game this season, so it was pretty unique and I just had to channel those emotions. It was tough losing in overtime, but it was a big and well-earned point at the end."-- Maple Leafs goalie Calvin Pickard

Need to know

Toronto forward Nazem Kadri was scratched because of an upper-body injury he sustained Thursday against the Arizona Coyotes. Coach Mike Babcock said he is day-to-day. ... The Avalanche killed both Maple Leafs power plays, stretching their streak to 30 over 11 games. ... Rantanen has nine points (three goals, six assists) in an eight-game point streak.

What's next

Maple Leafs:At the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET; SN, TVA Sports, ATTSN-RM, NHL.TV)
Avalanche:Host the New York Islanders on Sunday (8 p.m. ET; ALT, MSG+, NHL.TV)