Game Recap: Avs 5, Wild 2

DENVER -- Ross Colton had two goals and an assist, and the Colorado Avalanche rallied to win 5-2 against the Minnesota Wild at Ball Arena on Friday.

Valeri Nichushkin, Jonathan Drouin and Jack Drury each scored a goal, and Oliver Kylington had two assists for the Avalanche (35-24-2), who have won two straight and three of their past five games. Mackenzie Blackwood made 18 saves.

“We're getting some contributions throughout our lineup here,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “The Drury line was outstanding tonight, and they get rewarded for their work. Colton has two. Drury has one. It's not always going to be those guys. I know we rely heavily on those guys, but I think that they played a solid game.”

Mats Zuccarello and Vinnie Hinostroza each scored a goal for the Wild (34-22-4), who have lost three straight, including 6-1 at the Utah Hockey Club on Thursday. Filip Gustavsson made 25 saves.

“I just think the last two games, we've found numerous ways to beat ourselves, and we talk a lot about playing a smart game and the details of the game, and we didn't have it in these two games at a high enough level,” Minnesota coach John Hynes said. “I would say, in these two particular games, we didn't have the mindset to play the game the right way consistently enough in the details of the game, and it cost us.”

Zuccarello opened the scoring at 4:14 of the first period with a snap shot. Zuccarello was all alone in front of the net when he received Marcus Johansson’s pass from the right wall.

“It's a high-skill team that when you do those small mistakes, it's going to end up in the back of our net, Zuccarello said. “I think it was better today than it was yesterday, and then I think today, some mistakes as a team cost us. And that's what happens when you meet high-quality teams and quality players.”

Nichushkin tied it 1-1 with a power-play goal at 13:58 of the period. He one-timed Nathan MacKinnon’s centering pass from the slot.

“Great play by Nate. We've seen him make that play before and find an open seam for him,” Kylington said. “They call [Nichushkin] the Choo Choo Train for a reason. He's huge for us. He's heavy on pucks. He’s fast. He has a sense of scoring goals.”

Hinostroza regained a 2-1 lead with a power-play goal at 17:42 when he deflected Brock Faber’s point shot at the top of the crease.

“It felt like they came in 3-on-2's, 4-on-3's. They were just all over us,” Gustavsson said. “These are the games you have to win, like you're just fighting to get to the wild card spot. And this one, this team is right on us now. Same points.”

Drouin tied it 2-2 with a wrist shot short side over the shoulder of Gustavsson at 8:57 of the second period while on a breakaway. Kylington sent a pass from the Avalanche zone to Drouin near the far blue line, springing him for the breakaway.

“I saw 'Drou' there in the second, over my right shoulder, and I just tried to give it to him, and he made a great goal,” Kylington said. “I'm feeling good finally. It's been a long journey with the injury I had, and like I said before, I'm just happy to be playing again and feeling good. And today I chipped in a little bit, but I just want to come every day with my energy and the way I play and just try to contribute.”

Drury put Colorado up 3-2 with a backhand shot that went between Gustavsson and the post at 9:49.

"As I got around the net, I noticed he was a little late to the post. So just kind of threw it there,” Drury said.

Colton extended the lead to 4-2 at 14:39 of the second when he one-timed Kylington’s centering pass at the hash marks. The pass was initially slowed up by Jonas Brodin, but the puck trickled to Colton for the shot.

“We know we have the group in here that's capable of doing some great things. So it's just about sticking with it, staying positive,” Colton said. “On the 2-on-1, I kind of just pulled up. [Kylington] kind of gift wrapped it for me. It was up to me to just put it on net.”

Colton scored into the empty net at 19:52 of the third for the 5-2 final.

NOTES: Blackwood recorded his 16th win with the Avalanche, which is the third most among all Avalanche/Nordiques goaltenders through 25 games (Dan Bouchard (18) and Darcy Kuemper (17)). … Cale Makar assisted on the game-winning goal and became the first defenseman in Avalanche/Nordiques history to assist on 50 career game-winning goals. … Zuccarello’s goal was his 318th career point with the Wild, which passes Mikael Granlund (317) for sole possession of ninth on the franchise’s all-time list. … With an assist, Faber (140 games) became the third-fastest defenseman in Wild history to reach 70 points with the club (Ryan Suter (118) and Marek Zidlicky (120)). … Rossi became the fourth Austrian-born player to record 50 career assists (Thomas Vanek (416), Michael Grabner (101) and Michael Raffl (90)) and the second Austrian-born skater to have 30 assists in a single campaign (Vanek (7 times)).