Avalanche defeat Ducks in OT, take lead in Central

ANAHEIM --The Colorado Avalanche took over sole possession of first place in the Central Division with a 5-4 overtime win against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center on Sunday.

Colorado moved two points ahead of the Dallas Stars and four points ahead of the third-place Minnesota Wild in the division. Each team has three games remaining.
Nathan MacKinnon, who also had an assist, tied it 4-4 at 15:28 of the third period on a power play with a one-timer from the left face-off circle. He then scored again with a one-timer from the left circle on another power play with 45 seconds remaining in overtime for the 5-4 final.
Mikko Rantanen had two goals and two assists, Devon Toews had three assists, and Pavel Francouz made 19 saves in his first start since Feb. 7 for the Avalanche (49-24-6), who have won five straight and moved within three points of the Vegas Golden Knights, who have played one more game, for first in the Western Conference.
"Super proud of our club," MacKinnon said. "The boys are grinding hard all season long. We're back in first in our division now after a really tough season. We've been in [Stanley Cup] Playoff mode for a couple months now."

Frank Vatrano scored twice, and Lukas Dostal made 41 saves for the Ducks (23-45-12), who have been outscored 49-22 in 11 straight losses (0-9-2).
"Five or six years ago, [Colorado] finished 34 games under .500," Anaheim coach Dallas Eakins said. "And look at them now."
J.T. Compher gave the Avalanche a 1-0 lead at 10:15 of the first period, scoring from the left post after receiving a pass from Valeri Nichushkin.
Rantanen extended it to 2-0 at 13:58 of the second period when he cut through the left circle and scored on a backhand from the slot.
"We had a lot of good looks in the [first] period and even in the second we could have scored a couple more," Rantanen said.

Vatrano cut it to 2-1 at 15:15 with a one-timer from the high slot before Adam Henrique tied it 2-2 at 18:09, scoring on a breakaway after Cam Fowler poked the puck away from Rantanen at the Ducks' blue line.
"We could have mailed it in here [after we] went down by two goals," Vatrano said. "But we had the will to come back."
Vatrano then gave Anaheim a 3-2 lead at 5:18 of the third, scoring on a wrist shot from the high slot after he spun away from Samuel Girard, and Brett Leason pushed it to 4-2 at 7:25 when his tip-in from atop the crease went in off Girard.
"[The Ducks] know they're out of a playoff spot. Regardless of that, they're still fighting for their jobs for next year," Avalanche forward Logan O'Connor said. "Lots of young and hungry guys, guys that are looking to make a splash at the end of the season."
Rantanen cut it to 4-3 at 12:09 with a one-timer from the right circle on a power play. It was his 54th goal of the season, tying Joe Sakic for the franchise record since the team moved to Colorado for the start of the 1995-96 season.
"They have a powerhouse team," Henrique said. "If you go out there and just float around, you'll get embarrassed."

The Avalanche entered Sunday with the fifth-best power play in the NHL (24.7 percent) but went 0-for-4 with the man-advantage in the first period, including two 5-on-3 opportunities that lasted a combined 1:27. They finished the game 3-for-8 on the power play.
"I think we created some good chances, especially on that first 5-on-3," Compher said. "We were taking our shots, a couple posts; we can't get discouraged by it. I think we were doing a lot of the right things."
NOTES: The Avalanche have won 10 consecutive road games, setting a Colorado record. … MacKinnon has 107 points and Rantanen has 102, becoming the first Colorado teammates to reach the 100-point mark since Sakic (120) and Peter Forsberg (116) in 1995-96 ... Ducks defenseman Drew Helleson played 13:30 of ice time in his NHL debut after being recalled from San Diego of the American Hockey League earlier Sunday. He was acquired from the Avalanche for Josh Manson on March 14, 2022. … Anaheim forward Trevor Zegras has a career high 62 points this season.