Avalanche top Wild in shootout, extend home winning streak to 14

Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and an assist, and the Colorado Avalanche extended their home winning streak to 14 games with a 4-3 shootout victory against the Minnesota Wild at Ball Arena in Denver on Monday.

Mikko Rantanen also had a goal and an assist, and Alex Newhook scored for the Avalanche (25-8-3), who are 8-0-1 in January and 13-1-1 in their past 15 games.
"We were killing teams for a while there every night, so it's important for us to be in these tight games," MacKinnon said. "Last year we didn't have many tight games, we beat a lot of teams really bad all year so in the playoffs, it didn't help us. We're in high-pressure situations against really good teams. Up 2-1 going into the third we could have done a better job, but they're a really good team, they're desperate. Definitely, 6-on-5, we'd like to close it out."

Darcy Kuemper allowed one goal on 13 shots before leaving the game at 9:26 of the second period following a collision with Minnesota forward Jordan Greenway. He was replaced by Pavel Francouz, who made 25 saves.
"[Kuemper] wasn't good enough to come back in the game, so I don't know where he's going to be at," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "We'll see tomorrow how he responds."
Kirill Kaprizov scored two goals, Mats Zuccarello had two assists, and Kaapo Kahkonen made 35 saves for the Wild (22-10-3), who had a three-game winning streak end.
"We had a real regroup after the second period," Minnesota coach Dean Evason said. "We care about who we are and how we play, and that was our talk. There was no structural discussion. It was just let's play and do what we do. … We just played the game and we played it right."
Rantanen made it 1-0 at 15:57 of the first period during a 5-on-3 power play, tucking in MacKinnon's shot that went off the end boards.
Newhook extended the lead to 2-0 on a one-timer off a pass from Samuel Girard at 17:39.
"With every game comes a little more comfort, getting a bit closer with the guys and familiar with the system," said Newhook, who has scored 13 points (eight goals, five assists) in 27 games as a rookie this season. "Definitely feeling better and trying to do what I can to help the team going and stay in the win column."
Kevin Fiala scored 33 seconds into the second period with a backhand to cut it to 2-1. The goal was his 100th in the NHL.
"They had too many Grade-A chances, too many shots," Fiala said. "They could have scored so many goals in the first period, I thought, and Kaapo just saved us and kept us in the game. … We are much better team than we were in the first period, and we came out and we scored a goal right away and then we kept on going I felt like and got better and better. And in the third, even better."

Zuccarello found Kaprizov for a one-timer at the bottom of the right circle to tie the game 2-2 at 6:46 of the third period.
MacKinnon made it 3-2 at 16:28 off a 3-on-2 rush. The initial ruling on the ice was no goal, as it appeared Kahkonen made the stop with his left pad, but the call was reversed after video review.
"I didn't know if they were going to count it or not," MacKinnon said. "Obviously, [the puck is] under his foot, but I don't know if you could see it from their angle. I couldn't see it on the Jumbotron. I didn't know if it was going to count. Glad that it did."
With Kahkonen pulled for the extra attacker, Kaprizov scored off his own rebound to tie it 3-3 at 17:09. He has scored 12 points (six goals, six assists) during a six-game personal point streak.
"He's a special player," Evason said. "That line's (Kaprizov, Zuccarello and Ryan Hartman) been special for us, and they got the job done late here tonight."
NOTES:Colorado forward Valeri Nichushkin was placed in COVID-19 protocol on Monday. … Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar had an assist to extend his point streak to six games (two goals, seven assists). … MacKinnon's goal was his 600th NHL point. He has 219 goals and 381 assists in 599 games. … Hartman played in his 400th NHL game. … Minnesota defenseman Alex Goligoski had two shots and five blocked shots in 21:38 of ice time after missing five games in COVID-19 protocol.