Avalanche Claim Fourth-Straight Win as they Top Canucks 4-1

It's all coming together.
The Colorado Avalanche picked up a 4-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Friday night at Rogers Place.Colorado is now 24-17-3 on the season and have won four-straight games in regulation.

For the Avalanche, Andrew Cogliano and Brad Hunt scored at even strength, while Valeri Nichushkin and Mikko Rantanen (1G, 1A) scored on the power play. In Colorado's net, Alexandar Georgiev turned aside 28 of the 29 shots.The Avalanche utilized a lineup of 11 forwards and seven defensemen for the fourth-straight game.
For the Canucks, Elias Pettersson scored. Between the pipes, Collin Delia made 25 saves on 29 shots.

GAME SUMMARY:

The Avalanche completed another defensively solid 60-minute effort as they earned their fourth-straight regulation win and continued building on their success. It was a committed effort from the Avalanche, who benefited from two power-play goals and two five-on-five strikes, all while receiving solid netminding to secure an important two points as they continue their three-game road trip.
In a high-flying first period full of end-to-end action, the Avalanche claimed a 1-0 lead over the Canucks.
Vancouver had scored three-minutes into the opening frame as J.T. Miller redirected a point shot from Tyler Meyers, but the goal was immediately waved off due to Miller's stick being above the crossbar when he tipped the puck past Georgiev.
As the speedy opening period continued the Avalanche scored the opening goal a couple of minutes after successfully killing off a penalty. Cogliano anticipated a rimmed puck along the boards that Delia played. Alex Newhook pried the puck free along the boards after Cogliano's pressure and dropped it into the slot where Cogliano fired a wrister past Delia at 11:32 to give the Avalanche their 1-0 lead.

Colorado concluded the opening period with back-to-back power plays and carrying over 50 seconds of a 5-on-3 to start the second period as MacKinnon drew a hooking penalty on Luke Schenn at 19:58.
The Avalanche executed a dominant effort on both sides of the puck in the second period as they upped their lead 4-1 and held the Canucks to only eight shots.
Colorado capitalized on the early power play to start the second period as they lit the lamp at 34 seconds. MacKinnon sent a pass from distance down to below the goal line for J.T. Compher. The centerman one-touched the puck to the netfront where Nichushkin tapped the puck past Delia and scored his first goal back since injury and since Oct. 25.

The Avalanche scored their third goal of the night at 10:32 on a 5-on-3 power play as Vancouver took a hooking penalty at 8:41 and a too many men penalty at 10:01. On the Colorado power play, MacKinnon fired a shot from the point that sailed into the end boards and landed at the near post. Rantanen sent the ricocheted puck into the net for his team-leading 32nd goal of the season.
The Canucks managed to trim their deficit down 3-1 at 12:32 on an impressive individual effort by Pettersson. The Swedish centerman collected a pass from Brock Boeser while he was stationed in the slot with his back towards the netfront. Pettersson grabbed the puck, turned around, toe-dragged across the crease and took the puck from his forehand-to-backhand as he tucked it past a sprawled out Georgiev.

Fortunately, the Avalanche added a deflating goal in the final minute of the second period to further their lead 4-1. Rantanen sent a pass out to the point for Hunt, who skated into his one-timer shot that beat Delia at 19:27.
The Avalanche locked the game down in the third period and killed off two penalties in doing so to hold on to the 4-1 score and eventual win.

NOTEWORTHY:

• Cogliano scored his seventh goal of the season.
• Nichushkin buried his eighth goal of the season and sixth on the power play. Nichushkin scored for the first time since Oct. 25 as he was in and out of the lineup due to a lower-body injury.
• Rantanen recorded his team-leading 32nd goal of the season and his third goal in his last two games.
• Hunt scored his third goal of the season as he faced his former club.
• With two assists, MacKinnon extended his point streak to seven games where the centerman has produced 14 points (3G, 11A) in that stretch.
• Makar missed his second-consecutive game of the season due to injury and is listed as day-to-day. The defenseman was riding a six-game point streak - where he compiled 10 points (4G, 6A) in that span - prior to the injury.
• Georgiev made his 32nd start of the season and improved his record to 18-11-3.
• Colorado finished the game 2-for-4 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill.
• Darren Helm (lower body) and Makar (injury) were scratches for the Avalanche.

NEXT GAME:

The Avalanche conclude their three-game western swing as they travel to Seattle for a Saturday-night matchup and second leg of a back-to-back set. The puck drops between the Avs and Kraken at 8:00 p.m. MT.