DENVER — The Colorado Avalanche picked a perfect time to rediscover their shootout touch.

Just two days after edging the Dallas Stars in a shootoutColorado did it again Sunday against another Central Division rivaldefeating the Minnesota Wild in the skills competition as the playoff race continues to tighten. It was their fifth straight win and their second straight in the shootout.

Nathan MacKinnon and Nicolas Roy scored during regulationand after 60 minutes the Avalanche and the Wild were tied 2–2. Overtime solved nothingsending the game to a one-on-one competition.

Valeri Nichushkin continued his recent shootout success by scoring for the second straight gamebut the final dagger belonged to MacKinnon. The Avalanche star ripped a shot over the glove of Minnesota netminder Jesper Wallstedtwho finished with 34 saves in a strong performance.

Scott Wedgewood matched him at the other endstopping 34 shots of his own in an excellent outing to help secure Colorado’s second consecutive shootout victory.

Nazem Kadriin his highly-anticipated return to Coloradofinished with an assist.

Minnesota received goals from Kirill Kaprizov and former Avalanche forward Nico Sturm.

First Period

The Avalanche earned a power play just 1:20 into the game after Quinn Hughes cross-checked Nichushkin from behindsending him crashing into the boards.

Colorado failed to capitalize on the opportunityand when Minnesota defenseman Zach Bogosian was later penalized for hookingthe Avalanche were unable to convert on their second man advantage as well. As a resultColorado opened the contest 0-for-2 on the power play.

With under four minutes remaining in the periodMacKinnon carried the puck down the left wing on a breakawaybut Wallstedt denied the attempt. Colorado’s depth players also created chances late in the frame. Sam Malinski fired a point shot that bounced off Wallstedt’s chest protectorand the rebound produced another opportunitybut Joel Kiviranta’s follow-up attempt was also turned aside.

The opening period ended scorelesswith Colorado holding a 14–8 advantage in shots on goal.

Second Period

The second period began with a penalty when Ryan Hartman was called for high-sticking Nazem Kadrigiving Colorado its third power-play opportunity of the afternoon. The Avalanche were unable to capitalize againhoweverand the score remained tied 0–0.

Moments laterColorado went to the penalty kill after Roy was whistled for high-sticking Bogosian while trying to break free from a hold.

With 7:41 remaining in the periodMacKinnon broke the deadlock with his NHL-leading 43rd goal of the season. Kadri won a battle for a loose puck against two defenders and slid a pass to MacKinnon at the bottom of the right circlewhere he fired a precise shot to give Colorado a 1–0 lead.

The Avalanche caught a break with 3:22 left in the period when Bobby Brinkacquired from the Philadelphia Flyers at the trade deadlinedeflected a shot that beat Wedgewood but rang off the left post.

Third Period

With Ross Colton in the box for slashingthe Wild evened the game at one when Kaprizov fired a slap pass toward the crease that deflected off Matt Boldy’s stick and slipped past Wedgewood. The replay clearly showed the puck changing direction off Boldybut the goal was credited to Kaprizov.

Moments laterthe Avalanche earned their fourth power play of the game when Yakov Trenin was also called for slashing.

However7:01 into the periodMinnesota grabbed a 2–1 lead when Sturm broke free on a shorthanded breakaway and beat Wedgewood blocker side. The goal marked the 10th shorthanded goal allowed by Colorado this seasonthe most in the NHL.

Colorado soon received another opportunity on the man advantage when Kaprizov was whistled for slashingcontinuing what had become a penalty-filled stretch of the period. The Avalanche desperately needed a conversion to avoid falling to their Central Division rival.

While the power play itself came up empty—dropping Colorado to 0-for-5 on the afternoon—the Avalanche still managed to pull even shortly after. Roy deflected a point shot from Brett Kulak past Wallstedt to tie the game at two. The sequence again highlighted Colorado’s trade-deadline additionsas KadriKulakand Roy all played a role in the Avalanche’s two goals.

Overtime/Shootout

After a scoreless overtimeColorado sealed the win in the shootout thanks to goals from Nichushkin and MacKinnon. Boldy scored for Minnesotabut it wasn’t enough to prevent the Avalanche from claiming the extra point.

Next Game

The Avalanche (43-10-9) return to action Tuesday night at Ball Arena against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers (30-25-8). Puck drop is scheduled for 8 p.m. local time.

Notables

Captain Gabe Landeskog was a late scratch from the lineup after taking a shot to the groin from Cale Makar during the previous game against Dallas. When asked for clarification on Landeskog’s conditionhead coach Jared Bednar smiled and subtly smirked.

"It's a lower body injury... not a comfortable one."