MacKinnon has 5 points, Avalanche recover to defeat Canucks in OT

VANCOUVER -- Nathan MacKinnon scored twice and had three assists, and the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Vancouver Canucks 5-4 in overtime at Rogers Arena on Sunday.

Jake DeBrusk tied the game 4-4 with a power-play deflection at 16:59 of the third period for Vancouver, but Gavin Brindley scored the winning goal 1:08 into overtime, chipping his own rebound between the legs of goalie Kevin Lankinen as he reached out to cover the puck.

“Big one,” said Brindley, a 21-year-old rookie who has two goals in two games since returning from missing two games with a concussion. “Just excited and glad I could get it done for the boys.”

MacKinnon started the winning play in overtime then skated off for a change and was on the bench when he got his fifth point. The Colorado center, who had two goals and two assists in a 9-1 win at the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, has 19 points (eight goals, 11 assists) during a nine-game point streak and leads the NHL in goals (14) and points (29) for the League-leading Avalanche (10-1-5).

“It's unreal,” Colorado defenseman Cale Makar said. “He's finding ways to put the puck in the back of the net, going to the right areas, and driving the play too. It's definitely amazing to play with that guy every night.”

Artturi Lehkonen scored twice in the third period, Valeri Nichushkin and Makar each had two assists, and Mackenzie Blackwood made 29 saves in his second start of the season for the Avalanche, who have won three in a row and have points in seven straight games (5-0-2).

“I didn't love us tonight,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “We looked a step behind for most of the night. It looked like it was a grind for our team. We had some guys that struggled for most of the night, if not all of it, and then we had some other guys elevate their play. Power play comes up big with a couple goals, penalty kill survives for most of the night to keep it close and found a way on a great second effort by Brindley. He had a terrific night and helped get us a win.”

Linus Karlsson scored his first goal of the season, and Kiefer Sherwood scored his team-leading 10th for the Canucks (8-8-1), who have alternated wins and losses for nine straight (4-4-1).

“That should give us some confidence,” Karlsson said. “We were in the game all the time, and I think we played really, really good tonight. Maybe the start wasn't really our best, but after that, I think we grew into the game, and I think we played quite a good game.”

Lankinen made 27 saves after stopping 29 shots in a 4-3 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday. No.1 goalie Thatcher Demko did not dress for the second straight game after missing practice Friday for preventative maintenance.

“I was happy to get the nod and battled my butt off,” Lankinen said. “I feel great. That's what I've been working extremely hard over the years, not just this summer, but all these past summers, and give a lot of credit to my strength and conditioning team back home [in Finland]. I feel like I can play a third game here too."

MacKinnon put Colorado ahead 1-0 at 6:41 of the first period on a rush started by Makar behind his own net. Makar skated all the way to the right outside hash marks before passing between a pair of defenders to the slot for Nichushkin, whose quick pass to the bottom of the left circle stranded Lankinen and left MacKinnon with an open net.

MacKinnon made it 2-0 with a wrist shot while cutting into the slot on a power play at 8:10.

“We needed somebody to step up tonight and he was going right out of the gate, I thought,” Bednar said. “Continued what he did last night in Edmonton, and we needed it for sure and it's a big time for him to step up.”

Karlsson pulled the Canucks to 2-1 from below the goal line at 11:47. After Blackwood dove across with his stick to stuff the first rebound try, Karlsson put the puck between his legs to get it above the goal line before lifting a shot over the prone goalie.

Vancouver tied it 2-2 at 1:44 of the second period. Martin Necas lost the puck along the boards and it bounced to Sherwood, who was alone atop the crease for a quick backhand under Blackwood’s pads.

Lehkonen scored 28 seconds into the third period, redirecting Brent Burns' pass from the top of the right face-off circle past a stranded Lankinen to make it 3-2.

Drew O'Connor scored on a short-handed rush at 7:26 to tie it 3-3, snapping a rolling puck far side over the glove of Blackwood from the left face-off dot.

However, Lehkonen converted a rebound on another power play at 9:47, firing into an empty net after Lankinen made a good save off a Necas one-timer to make it 4-3.

“That's a really good team over there,” DeBrusk said. “They come at you in waves and lots of back and forth, honestly. It was good of us to get a point there, but we want the two.”

Brindley, who was promoted to the top line with MacKinnon during the third period, won it in overtime, making Bednar the 42nd coach in NHL history to reach 400 wins (400-247-69), and the 16th to do it with one team.

“It means a lot,” Bednar said. “Certainly, grateful for the opportunity to continue to coach these guys. I love coaching them. A great group year after year. We have some terrific leadership in there. Just happy to be part of it and try to contribute in any way I can. So very blessed.”

NOTES: MacKinnon has 381 career goals, passing Peter Stastny for third in Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques history. MacKinnon also had his 11th five-point game in the NHL, passing Joe Sakic for the second-most in Avalanche/Nordiques history. … Colorado went 2-for-3 on the power play to end an 0-for-22 slump over their previous eight road games. … Makar has at least one point in all 10 Avalanche road games, the longest season-opening streak in team history. Makar has 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in that span.