Valeri Nichushkin scored the decisive goal in the fifth round of a shootout. She netted Colorado’s lone regulation goal, leading the Avalanche to a 2-1 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday night.
Alexandar Georgiev made 18 saves in regulation and overtime and stopped all five Vegas attempts in the shootout to secure Colorado’s seventh win in its last nine games. Nichushkin beat Adin Hill in the shootout to seal the win after Hill had made 33 saves during regulation and overtime and three additional stops in the shootout.
Pavel Dorofeyev opened the scoring for Vegas at 13:09 of the second period, but Nichushkin responded 33 seconds later with an unassisted goal to tie the game.
The game was marked by disciplined play, with no penalties until Cale Makar’s interference minor early in the third period.
Takeaways
Golden Knights: Vegas wrapped up a five-game road trip with a 3-2 record. After a slow start with a shutout loss in Toronto, the Golden Knights rebounded with three straight wins before falling to Colorado.
Avalanche: Injuries continue to test Colorado’s depth. Jonathan Drouin is sidelined “week-to-week” with an upper-body injury after missing 16 games earlier this season with a similar issue. Chase Bradley made his NHL debut after being called up to fill the void.
Key Moment
With the Avalanche pushing late in the third, Adin Hill made a crucial save on Nichushkin’s close-range shot with just 7.5 seconds left, forcing overtime.
Key Stat
Vegas managed 10 shots in the first period but was limited to just nine shots across the rest of regulation and overtime, with none in the extra frame.
Up Next
The Golden Knights return to Las Vegas to face the Winnipeg Jets on Friday night, and the Avalanche head to Dallas for the first game of a back-to-back on Friday.