Colorado Avalanche at Vancouver Canucks

· National Hockey League

Colorado Avalanche

10-1-5

Final
5 - 4

Vancouver Canucks

8-8-1

Brindley scores in OT, MacKinnon has 2 goals and 3 assists as Avalanche beat Canucks 5-4

Artturi Lehkonen scores power-play goal vs. Canucks

Nathan MacKinnon had two goals and three assists to take over the NHL scoring lead, Artturi Lehknonen also scored twice and Valeri Nichushkin and Cale Makar each had two assists for Colorado. Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 29 shots as the Avalanche won their third straight and extended their point streak to 5-0-2.

Linus Karlsson, Kiefer Sherwood, Drew O'Connor and Jake DeBrusk scored for Vancouver. Kevin Lankinen finished with 27 saves.

In the extra period, Brindley scored on the rebound of his own shot to give the Avalanche the win. MacKinnon got an assist on the play after he had left the ice, giving him five points on the night and an NHL-leading 29 on the season.

DeBrusk tied it 4-4 with a power-play goal with 3:01 remaining as he tipped Brock Boeser's shot past Blackwood.

Lehkonen gave Colorado a 3-2 lead 28 seconds into the third period with a redirection of a pass by Brent Burns.

O'Connor tied it again with a short-handed goal as he beat Blackwood from the left circle at 7:26.

With the Avalanche on another power play, Lehkonen got his second of the night as he scored on a rebound at 9:47 for a 4-3 lead.

Sherwood tied it 2-2 at 1:44 of the second as he picked up a loose puck and put a backhander between Blackwood's skates for his 10th of the season.

MacKinnon gave the Avalanche a 2-0 lead with goals 1:29 apart in the first period.

Makar brought the puck up the right side, passed to Nichushkin in the middle and he sent to the left to MacKinnon for a quick shot past Lankinen at 6:41.

With Colorado on a power play, MacKinnon got a pass from Victor Olofsson in the slot, gathered the puck and fired it past Lankinen for his NHL-leading 14th at 8:10.

Karlsson pulled the Canuks within one with 8:13 remaining in the first as he got the puck at the goal line on the left side, pulled it back between his skates and tucked it in.

Up next Avalanche host Anaheim on Tuesday to open a four-game homestand, and Canucks host Winnipeg.

Regular Season Series

COL leads series 1-0

Scoring Summary

Goal	1st Period 6:41	Nathan MacKinnon Goal (13) Snap Shot, assists: Valeri Nichushkin (5), Cale Makar (15)
Goal	1st Period 8:10	Nathan MacKinnon Goal (14) Wrist Shot, assists: Victor Olofsson (9), Valeri Nichushkin (6)
Goal	1st Period 11:47	Linus Karlsson Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: Filip Hronek (9), Evander Kane (6)
Goal	2nd Period 1:44	Kiefer Sherwood Goal (10) Backhand, assists: none
Goal	3rd Period 0:28	Artturi Lehkonen Goal (5) Tip-In, assists: Brent Burns (7), Nathan MacKinnon (13)
Goal	3rd Period 7:26	Drew O'Connor Goal (4) Snap Shot, assists: none
Goal	3rd Period 9:47	Artturi Lehkonen Goal (6) Snap Shot, assists: Martin Necas (10), Nathan MacKinnon (14)
Goal	3rd Period 16:59	Jake DeBrusk Goal (5) Tip-In, assists: Brock Boeser (4), Quinn Hughes (9)
Goal	4th Period 1:08	Gavin Brindley Goal (3) Poke, assists: Cale Makar (16), Nathan MacKinnon (15)

Statistics

COL		VAN
13	Blocked Shots	18
18	Hits	10
5	Takeaways	2
32	Shots	33
2	Power Play Goals	1
3	Power Play Opportunities	5
66.7	Power Play Percentage	20.0
0	Short Handed Goals	1
0	Shootout Goals	0
27	Faceoffs Won	39
40.9	Faceoff Win Percent	59.1
10	Giveaways	12
5	Total Penalties	3
10	Penalty Minutes	6

Vancouver Canucks Injuries

NAME, POS	STATUS	DATE
Nils Hoglander, LW	Day-To-Day	Dec 14
Elias Pettersson, C	Injured Reserve	Dec 14
Teddy Blueger, C	Injured Reserve	Dec 8
Filip Chytil, C	Injured Reserve	Dec 6
Derek Forbort, D	Injured Reserve	Oct 28