Avalanche defeat Raanta, Coyotes in OT for split of two-game set

DENVER -- Gabriel Landeskog scored with 38 seconds left in overtime to give the Colorado Avalanche a 2-1 win against the Arizona Coyotes at Ball Arena on Wednesday.

Landeskog took a drop pass from Samuel Girard, circled back into the slot, and shot by goalie Antti Raanta's glove.
"I kind of wanted to shoot the first one, but I didn't want to force anything and have it go off his shin pad or anything," Landeskog said. "In overtime, you want to play with possession and really pick your spots. I came around the second time a little bit lower and was able to fire one through a screen."
Brandon Saad scored, and Philipp Grubauer made 13 saves for Colorado (14-8-2), which won for the first time in three games.
Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon had 10 shots on goal in 24:44 after missing the previous three games with a head injury. The Landeskog-MacKinnon-Mikko Rantanen line combined for 19 shots, five more than the Coyotes.
"In my opinion, he's the best player in the League, and obviously when you're missing the best player in the League, you're missing that offensive drive," Landeskog said. "He's not the only one who (was) injured, but we really battled the last few games. He's a big part of our offense and a big part of everything we do out there. He's a threat every time he's on the ice. It was a big boost for us coming in as a team. I thought he had a great game; he was dominating every time he was on the ice. It's good to have him back."
Tyler Pitlick scored, and Raanta made 44 saves for Arizona (12-10-4), which won 3-2 on Monday in the first of the two-game set.
"Getting three out of four (points) was big," Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said. "[Raanta] was big for us tonight. I've said many times, I don't have second thoughts when I think about Antti."

Raanta made 16 saves in the third period Monday after Darcy Kuemper left with a lower-body injury. Kuemper has returned to Arizona for further evaluation and is week to week, Tocchet said.
"[Raanta] played unbelievable for us," Pitlick said. "He made a lot of huge saves. We don't get any points without him. A lot to do with [Raanta] tonight."
Saad gave the Avalanche a 1-0 lead at 1:23 of the first period, shooting five-hole from the slot after a pass from Andre Burakovsky.
"Just stick with it," Saad said. "It doesn't matter how well you're playing, it's about the result. I think we did a good job of sticking with it and not getting too frustrated and getting the win."

Pitlick tied it 1-1 at 18:05 of the second period when his shot from the right half-wall went in off Colorado forward Tyson Jost at the top of the crease.
"No one really got down," Pitlick said. "We kept chugging along. That's a good team. We've got to do some things differently the next time we play them. We hung in there. [Raanta] made some big saves. We were all right. We've got to get more shots, obviously, if we want to win the game. Yeah, we hung in there, and he played great."
Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said he was pleased with how they played at each end of the ice but said their shooting accuracy needs to improve.
"The commitment to defend, the hunger offensively, our breakouts were good, and we had good speed coming through the neutral zone," he said. "All that is great, but it's hard to watch games like that and the last one where we had some really good scoring chances. We're just not shooting the puck as well as we have in the past. Tip your hat to Raanta, but we're making other teams' goalies look good right now."
The Coyotes killed five penalties, including three in the third period to keep the game tied. They have killed 14 of 15 penalties in the past four games.
"I thought we were good as a unit of four," Arizona defenseman Jason Demers said. "We have a lot of new guys up front, and they're really picking it up quick and want to learn. They're working hard. Your best [penalty killer] is your goalie, and he was phenomenal tonight. We beat them last game, so we knew they were going to come out harder, especially with Nate back in the lineup."
NOTES: Clayton Keller had an assist on Pitlick's goal and has eight points (three goals, five assists) during a six-game point streak. … The loss ended the Coyotes' road winning streak at five games. … MacKinnon played his 545th NHL game to pass Peter Forsberg for ninth in Avalanche history (since 1995-96). … Girard has four assists during a three-game point streak.