Rapid Recap: Avalanche 3, Ducks 2 (OT)

Valeri Nichushkin scored in overtime to give the Colorado Avalanche a 3-2 victory against the Anaheim Ducks on Friday at Ball Arena.
Nichushkin drove to the net and buried his second marker of the contest at 2:45 of the extra stanza to complete Colorado's comeback win. It was his first career OT goal.
The Avs rallied from a two-goal deficit in the second period to knot the game heading into the final stanza. Nichushkin got Colorado on the scoreboard by tallying off a centering feed from Joonas Donskoi with 5:14 left in the middle frame, and Brandon Saad cleaned up a rebound less than three minutes later to tie the contest at 2-2.

Saad also had assists on both of Nichushkin's goals for his fifth multi-point performance and first three-point game of the season. Tyson Jost and Dan Renouf added helpers on Saad's marker, with Renouf's being his first career NHL point. Colorado netminder Philipp Grubauer stopped 26 shots, including all 10 in the third period and OT.
Adam Henrique and Jakob Silfverberg tallied for the Ducks.
The contest was the start of a nine-game homestand for the Avalanche.
Statistics
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Highlights

THE GOALS

1st Period
19:50 ANA (0-1) - Adam Henrique took a pass from below the goal line and scored from the slot just before the intermission.
2nd Period
2:22 ANA (0-2 ) - Jakob Silfverberg scored from a wrist shot at the right wing side during a rush up the ice.
14:46 COL (1-2) - Valeri Nichushkin swatted in Joonas Donskoi's centering pass in the low slot for his third goal of the season.
17:23 COL (2-2) - Brandon Saad knocked in a loose puck in the blue pain off a rebound.
3rd Period
No Scoring
Overtime
2:45 COL (3-2) - Valeri Nichushkin drove to the net and placed the puck beyond John Gibson's pad to end the contest.
Final: Avalanche - 3 | Ducks - 2 (Overtime)

POWER PLAYS

Colorado: 0 for 3
Anaheim: 0 for 2

GOALTENDING BATTLE

Colorado: Philipp Grubauer made 26-of-28 saves, including all nine in the third period.
Anaheim: John Gibson stopped 31 of the 34 shots he faced.

STAT OF THE NIGHT

Colorado wore its reverse retro jerseys for the third of six times this season, improving to 2-1-0 in the threads and winning its first at Ball Arena.

NOTEBOOK

Valeri Nichushkin scored two times, including the first overtime goal of his career... Colorado began a nine-game homestand, the longest continuous homestay in franchise history. The Avs will play 15 of their next 17 contests at Ball Arena... The Avalanche was starting its fourth of eight back-to-backs of the season, improving to 3-1-0 in the first game. Colorado has a 2-0-1 record in the second... The Avs and Ducks were playing the third of eight meetings in their season series, with Colorado owning a 2-1-0 record versus Anaheim... Samuel Girard and Mikko Rantanen each wore an alternate captain 'A'... Brandon Saad (one goal, two assists) recorded his first three-point and fifth multi-point game of the season... Dan Renouf recorded his first career NHL point with an assist... Nazem Kadri scored at 14:52 of the first period but after a lengthy review it was determined that it was knocked in with a high stick, negating the goal.

BIG HIGHLIGHT

IMAGE OF THE GAME

Being a dad again and playing hockey. A lot to be thankful for.

ROSTER REPORT

Kiefer Sherwood played his first game since Feb. 2 versus Minnesota and faced his former team for the first time ever as well. He began on a line with Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Logan O'Connor. Nazem Kadri moved up to center a line with Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen, while Tyson Jost was the pivot on the trio with Andre Burakovsky and Brandon Saad. Goaltender Philipp Grubauer started for the fourth-straight game and the 18th time this season. The Avalanche recalled goalie Peyton Jones to its taxi squad on Thursday while reassigning Sheldon Dries and Adam Werner to the American Hockey League's Colorado Eagles.

INJURY UPDATE

Despite participating in morning skate, Nathan MacKinnon (upper body) missed his second game of the season. Matt Calvert (upper body) skated in the morning in a red, non-contact jersey and could return to the lineup as early as Saturday. Bowen Byram (upper body) skated before the team practice, while Cale Makar (upper body) continues to progress but is unlikely to play in the team's next two contests. Head coach Jared Bednar said Dennis Gilbert (upper body) can start doing off-ice workouts after having surgery, but the defenseman was added to the NHL COVID-19 protocol list on Friday. Goaltender Pavel Francouz (lower body) and defenseman Erik Johnson (upper body) remain out long term.

UP NEXT

The Avalanche wraps up the back-to-back at Ball Arena against the Ducks on Saturday. Game time is at 6 p.m. MT.

LINE COMBINATIONS

Based on the start of the game
Forwards
92 Gabriel Landeskog - 91 Nazem Kadri - 96 Mikko Rantanen
20 Brandon Saad - 17 Tyson Jost - 95 Andre Burakovsky
13 Valeri Nichushkin - 37 J.T. Compher - 72 Joonas Donskoi
44 Kiefer Sherwood - 41 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - 25 Logan O'Connor
Defensemen
27 Ryan Graves - 7 Devon Toews
34 Jacob MacDonald - 49 Samuel Girard
2 Dan Renouf - 22 Conor Timmins
Goaltenders
31 Philipp Grubauer
32 Hunter Miska