DENVER (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon scored his NHL-leading 43rd goal and scored the winning goal in a shootout, lifting the Colorado Avalanche to a 3-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Sunday in a matchup between two of the NHL’s top four teams in points.
MacKinnon has 70 points in 55 career games against Minnesota, his most against any opponent.
Both teams converted on one of their first three shootout opportunities before Vladimir Tarasenko was stonewalled
by Scott Wedgewood, giving MacKinnon the opportunity to deliver his team a win.
Wedgewood, who leads the NHL in goals against average and is second in save percentage, had 32 saves on 34 Minnesota shots.
Trailing 1-0 entering the third period, the Wild scored two goals in a stretch of 2:44, one on a power play and one short-handed, to take the lead. The Avalanche countered with a Nicolas Roy tip-in goal with 7:21 remaining to send the game into overtime.
It was the second meeting in the past 10 days in Denver between the teams, with the Wild winning 5-2 on Feb. 26.
Kirill Kaprizov scored his team-leading 36th goal of the season for the Wild, who had won eight of their previous 10 games. Nico Sturm also scored for Minnesota.
In his first game back with Colorado since being traded from the Calgary Flames on Friday, Nazem Kadri had an assist for the franchise he helped win a Stanley Cup in 2022.
The Avalanche were without captain Gabriel Landeskog, who the team said Sunday is week to week with a lower-body injury. Landeskog took a shot to the groin during Colorado’s shootout win against the Dallas Stars on Friday.
Wild: Host Utah on Tuesday.
Avalanche: Host Edmonton on Tuesday.
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