Colorado Avalanche Win Overtime Thriller on MacKinnon Goal

Colorado Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon scored to give the team a much-needed overtime win. Watch all the Avs goals from the game.

The Colorado Avalanche won in overtime. You read that right — the Avs won in OT. Not in the shootout like last time — they actually won in the overtime extra hockey.

It was a miracle the Avs even got to that point. They went down 3-2 late in the third period when Colorado took a too many men on the ice penalty. The goal went in off Ian Cole’s stick, and I’m seriously ready to catapult him into the sun. Especially since he was a total passenger on Goal #2.

Luckily the Colorado Avalanche scored three beautiful goals to take the game into overtime.

The first came from J.T. Compher early in the third period. It was a beautiful wrister:

It was his 15th goal of the season, which is a career high for the 23-year-old. It was also the game-tying goal.

The second Avs goal was also a game-tying tally because of that Passenger Goal from above. It was a wicked backhand on the power play from Mikko Rantanen:

That was his 29th goal of the season, which ties him for last year’s career-high.

Luckily the goal counted. It was under review for goal tender interference. As it was under review, Mikko was worried:

But, as noted, the goal counted.

Then the power play goal that went in off Cole’s stick, and that was it. I was ready to be depressed.

I haven’t ragged on Tyson Barrie in a while. I did notice that Nikita Zadorov has more goals than T-Brat — though, of course, Barrie’s total of 44 points is greater than Z’s — but he went back to being Mr. Clutch like he was in the Golden Why Not Us season.

With under two minutes to go in the third, and the goalie pulled, Barrie scored the game-tying goal:

That is one beauty of a one-timer. And credit to Carl Soderberg for creating a great screen in front of former Avs goalie Jonathan Bernier. (During his post-game presser, Barrie joked that he told his former teammate he’d be going “top cheese” on him during the game and that he’d be shooting Bernier a text about his goal later.)

And now to the pièce de résistance, he goal that we’re all hoping broke the Colorado Avalanche’s overtime jinx for the year. Nathan MacKinnon’s overtime game-winner.

Full confession — I watched about half of the overtime through laced fingers like it was a horror movie because, well, it usually is. So I almost missed MacKinnon’s game-winner — almost. I’m glad I experienced it in real time, though. It was a beauty.

He skated into the high slot. And, oh man, those slick hands. I don’t even know how he sees the minuscule seams, much less shoots the puck through them:

I wonder if he also is going to shoot Bernier a text — in good fun, of course.

That goal was MacKinnon’s sixth regular-season overtime goal. He’s now tied for second place in Avalanche history with Joe Sakic and David Jones. Milan Hejduk is still on top with nine.

But, of course, MacK is only 23, and we have him forever.

The Colorado Avalanche are still outside looking in for a playoff spot. But they’re getting closer. From here on out, every game is pretty much a playoff match.