Bjugstad, Coyotes defeat Avalanche in OT for 3rd straight victory

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Nick Bjugstad put in his own rebound with 21 seconds left in overtime, and the Arizona Coyotes won their third straight game, 4-3 against the Colorado Avalanche at Mullett Arena on Thursday.

Travis Boyd, Nick Schmaltz and Michael Carcone scored for the Coyotes (11-9-2), who had lost three straight before starting their winning streak. Connor Ingram made 28 saves.

Arizona has defeated the past three Stanley Cup champions in succession: the Vegas Golden Knights (2-0 on Saturday), the Tampa Bay Lightning (3-1 on Tuesday) and the Avalanche. No team had defeated the previous three winners in a row since the Buffalo Sabres from Dec. 15-20, 1995.

“Our guys are really tuned in the way we played the past three games,” Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny said. “The urgency we’ve had, the focus level we’ve had has been unbelievable. … I hope it will fuel our confidence.”

Cale Makar had a goal and an assist, Mikko Rantanen had two assists and Nathan MacKinnon and Miles Wood scored for the Avalanche (15-6-1), who had won four straight and seven of eight. Alexandar Georgiev made 29 saves.

“I didn't think we played our best tonight, so to able to come back in the third after giving up some goals that we didn’t like and squaring it … we almost survived it,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “Would have loved to have two points out of it, but we’ll take the one and learn from it.”

The Avalanche led 1-0 and 2-1 but later fell behind 3-2 and were denied its ninth comeback victory of the season.

“We hung in there and came back and gave ourselves an opportunity but, at the end of the day, we just couldn't finish the job,” forward Logan O'Connor said. “I think we definitely let it slip away.”

Bjugstad scored three seconds after a power play resulting from Bowen Byram’s slashing penalty ended, and before Colorado could get fresh players on the ice.

“He (forward Matias Maccelli) gave me the puck and I kind of jammed away and tried to get it on net,” Bjugstad said. “We created scoring chances [on the power play] and kind of wore their [defensemen] down. I don't know if they got caught out there tired, but we had possession and gained momentum.”

Bednar said that, down a man, the Avalanche were trying to take away the interior of the ice.

“They made a nice play to get it down low and probably a nicer move to bring it to the net,” Bednar said. “There was a rebound sitting there and we got a couple of sticks on it. It’s just unfortunate.”

Carcone’s wraparound goal gave Arizona a 3-2 lead at 1:08 of the third period. He has 10 goals in his first full NHL season, including four in his past four games.

MacKinnon’s power-play goal tied it 3-3 at 11:04, a one-timer under the crossbar off Makar’s cross-ice pass. 

Makar scored on a power play for a 1-0 lead at 19:31 of the first period. His shot down the slot from just inside the blue line eluded Ingram as Valeri Nichushkin screened in front.

Boyd tied it 1-1 at 3:03 of the second period. J.J. Moser’s shot from the point deflected off Liam O'Brien’s stick at the hash marks and then off Boyd’s stick and in.

Wood gave Colorado a 2-1 lead at 4:44, picking up the puck in the corner, cutting across the crease and tucking it inside the far post.

Schmaltz tied it 2-2 at 16:22 just 11 seconds into a power play with a one-timer from the slot.

“I think we all kind of sat around knowing we had to be better, and obviously we were these last three games,” Bjugstad said. “[We’re] finding ways to win, making those high-percentage plays and I think that's really our focus.”

NOTES: Bjugstad’s overtime goal was the first of his career. ... Makar had 25 points (four goals, 21 assists) in November. His 21 assists tied Peter Stastny (October 1983) for the most in a calendar month in franchise history. It was also the most by an NHL defenseman in the month; Ray Bourque had 18 for the Boston Bruins in November 1984. ... Nichushkin has 13 points (eight goals, five assists) during a career-best nine-game streak that began Nov. 13. … Colorado has scored at least one power-play goal in nine consecutive games, the longest streak in the NHL this season.