Raanta perfect in relief for Coyotes, gets win against Avalanche

DENVER -- Antti Raanta made 16 saves in relief of injured Darcy Kuemper in the third period for the Arizona Coyotes in a 3-2 win against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena on Monday.

Kuemper left with a lower-body injury at 2:20 after allowing two goals on 19 shots. Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said Kuemper will be reevaluated Tuesday.
"When you're in the backup role it's never too much fun to go in there, especially that late in the game," Raanta said. "Sometimes it's always a little bit easier to get in there so quickly. You don't have any time to think. Just go there and the game keeps going. A couple shots right away, started to feel the puck a little bit. Tried to focus on the simple things, like trying to move sharp and try to beat the passes and just tried to make the saves. I was able to do that. Obviously, it feels really good."
Derick Brassard, Jakob Chychrun and Johan Larsson scored for Arizona (12-10-3), which had three goals on 14 shots.
"It's tough for a goalie to sit there for two hours and go in there cold," Tocchet said of Raanta. "He's a pro. We had some good blocks at the end. That's what it takes to win."

Andre Burakovsky and Valeri Nichushkin scored, and Philipp Grubauer made 11 saves for Colorado (13-8-2).
"It seems like right now we're playing games where we're making every goalie that we play look like they're an all-star," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "We can't continue with that. We have to get them moving a little bit, making it tougher on them to see pucks."
Larsson broke a 2-2 tie 4:06 into the third period, deflecting a point shot by Oliver Ekman-Larsson 1:46 after Kuemper left the game.
Arizona's Jason Demers was assessed a high-sticking penalty with 2:14 left in the third period and Colorado had a two-man advantage for the final 1:06 when Grubauer left for a sixth attacker.
"We go 40 seconds without someone taking control and shooting the puck," Bednar said. "I would have liked to have seen five, six, eight shots on goal in the last minute when you're up 6-on-4 instead of passing it around looking for the pretty play."
The Coyotes took a 1-0 lead at 4:54 of the first period. Clayton Keller passed across to Brassard for a shot from the right face-off dot that went 5-hole on a power play.
Chychrun increased the lead to 2-0 at 15:17 with a point shot that went in after hitting Colorado defenseman Devon Toews' stick.
"It's nice when you can play hard games on the road," Chychrun said. "We need to stick with it. If we can continue to play our style of game, we'll be in every game."

The Avalanche pulled to 2-1 at 9:31 of the second period. Nazem Kadri fed Nichushkin in the slot for a one-timer.
Burakovsky tied it 2-2 at 14:52 on a power play, shooting under Kuemper's glove from the left circle.
"We're working hard, we're creating a lot of chances, we're grinding, we're doing a good job," Burakovsky said. "It was just a couple lucky bounces and sometimes that's all it takes in this sport. We've just got to bounce back; the next one's going to be huge."

Arizona and Colorado will play again here Wednesday.
"We need some wins." Tocchet said. "Regardless of who's in the lineup for them or us, you got to win a hockey game, and we did. We've got to clean up a few things. Maybe that is a mental thing. I don't know, I haven't really figured that out other than the fact it's good to get the win."
NOTES:Keller has seven points (three goals, four assists) in a five-game point streak. … Arizona forward Phil Kessel had an assist on Larsson's goal, his 499th in the NHL. … The Coyotes have won five straight on the road for the first time since Oct. 13-Nov. 15, 2011. … Brassard's goal was Arizona's first in the first period in 11 games, dating to a 5-4 OT loss to the St. Louis Blues on Feb. 13. They had allowed 13. … Colorado forward Mikko Rantanen had an assist and has 11 points (five goals, six assists) in his past seven games. … Avalanche forward Matt Calvert had two shots and two hits in 11:03 after missing six games with an upper-body injury. … Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon took part in the morning skate wearing a non-contact jersey. He missed his third straight game with a head injury but might play Wednesday, Bednar said. … Defenseman Cale Makar (upper-body injury) also skated but missed his sixth straight.