DENVER —The Colorado Avalanche claw their way back on Tuesday night against the Vegas Golden Knights. After failing to make a comeback against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday, Colorado learned from the loss. With the 3–2 shootout win over the Golden Knights, the Avalanche have reached 100 points for the fourth consecutive season.

First Period

It was a bit of a clunky start for the Avalanche and Golden Knights in the first period. For the first three minutes, there were several stops in play, so neither team gained any momentum. Just under three minutes into the game, Brock Nelson interfered with Brett Howden, forcing a Colorado penalty kill. The Avs would kill off the power play from the league’s top unit, but it threw things into Vegas’ hands.

With just over nine minutes left in the period, Zach Whitecloud tossed the puck over the glass for a delay game penalty. Cale Makar tried to make a pass from the top of the slot, but Reilly Smith picked off the pass and raced away with it. William Karlsson took the pass from Smith and made the easy shot past Scott Wedgewood for the shorthanded goal. The Avs failed on the power play chance.

Recent recall Chris Wagner and power forward Keegan Kolesar met at center ice for a heavyweight tilt to pump up the crowd. Two minutes later, a hold on Miles Wood returned the Avalanche to a power play. Colorado never got a shot on goal and has one goal in their last 14 power play chances.

Second Period

It did not take long for the Golden Knights to draw blood on the Avalanche in the second period. Less than one minute into the period, Vegas dumped the puck into the Avalanche zone. Brayden McNabb picked up the loose puck and tossed it through traffic and gave Vegas the 2–0 lead.

The next penalty on the Golden Knights is the one that the Avalanche needed. Victor Olofsson tripped Devon Toews up, sending Colorado to the power play. Things finally come together as the first unit passed the puck around the perimeter. Valeri Nichushkin got a shot off, but Akira Schmid made a diving catch, his glove crossing the line. The officials reviewed the shot and determined that it was a good goal, cutting the Golden Knights’ lead to 2–1. It was Nichushkin’s first goal in seven games.

Late in the period, Colorado put some pressure on the Golden Knights. Wood carried to puck into the zone and passed it over to Charlie Coyle. He would take two shots on the net, gathering his own rebound in between shots. Jimmy Vesey, who had just come on for his shift, screamed down the slot for the rebound on the second shot. Vesey threw it past Schmid for the tie game and his first in an Avalanche sweater.

Third Period

The third period of the game was a back-and-forth game, providing chances for both teams. Nichushkin would run the puck in and take a chance for a shot, barely missing. Ivan Barbashev would get two breakaway chances by himself in just 30 seconds with Wedgewood using the blocker to stop the puck.

The second half of the third period was full of penalties, starting with a delay of game by Kaedan Korczak for Vegas. But, only 37 seconds into the Avalanche’s power play, officials caught Joel Kiviranta during a hold. Neither team would score on their power play opportunity.

Overtime and Shootout

The Avalanche drew the game to overtime and by doing so, secured third place in the Central Division. Colorado dominated the overtime with the possession game. Artturi Lehkonen, who has had the worst of luck lately, had the best chance in the overtime period. He was set up in the right faceoff circle for the shot but was stonewalled. The game eventually would draw to a shootout, but only one player saw the back of the net. Charlie Coyle finished the job and won the game 3–2.

Observations From the Mountaintop

The Avalanche had a lackluster start to the game, and it nearly cost them the win. It was hard for them to recover from the shorthanded goal. They looked like they lacked energy and drive throughout the first period. The second is more what we expect the from Colorado. They outshot the Golden Knights 19–4 in the period to tie the game. Penalties could have killed the team, but they worked through it and finally converted on a power play.

Next Game

The Vancouver Canucks come to town on Thursday to battle at Ball Arena. The game will start at 7:30 p.m MT and air on Altitude Sports and KTVD (My20).