MacKinnon: Comeback victory vs. Canucks is Avs' 'best win of the year'
Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon gave a glowing review of his team's 3-0 comeback to beat the Vancouver Canucks in overtime Wednesday.
"Best win of the year for sure," he said. "Really happy with our game. Tough start ... but we didn't quit. I thought we really dominated in the third period, which is always what you want to do. ... Really excited about that win tonight."
Mikko Rantanen got Colorado on the board with three seconds remaining in the second period, setting up a dominant final frame in which the Avalanche outshot the Canucks 17-3. MacKinnon and Ross Colton scored to tie the game 3-3 before MacKinnon's shot deflected off Valeri Nichushkin's visor and in to end the contest in the extra frame.
"MacKinnon said, 'I'm taking this game,'" Canucks bench boss Rick Tocchet said. "We need(ed) a couple of guys to counteract that, and I thought we didn't."
He added: "We just couldn't get anybody to grab hold of a puck - whether it's on a forecheck or a breakout - just to kind of slow things down. We were a little hot potato, and we were kind of soft on the puck, mostly in the third. I hate to say it, but (it's) a learning lesson. We need some guys to dig in on certain situations."
The Canucks were outshot 34-21 on Wednesday, and the Avalanche dictated 69.6% of the expected goals at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.
The victory marked Colorado's 21st comeback win this season, which came as no surprise to MacKinnon.
"We've always been a really good group (when we're) down a couple," he explained. "Even when we won the Cup (in 2022), it was almost better when we were losing for some reason. We just push harder, be more aggressive."
Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar thought the performance was an important one for newcomers Sean Walker, Casey Mittelstadt, Brandon Duhaime, and Yakov Trenin.
"We did all the right things, which leads to the victory," he said. "It's a good message for our guys, it's good for all of our new guys to come in and feel that in this group because they were all a big part of it.
"That's the sort of confidence that you want to instill in your group. Hopefully, they keep remembering that."
The Avalanche will square off against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.