Minnesota 4, Colorado 3
When: 8:00 PM ET, Sunday, January 31, 2021
Where: Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Referees:
Tom Chmielewski, Chris Lee
Linesmen:
Ryan Galloway, Tony Sericolo
Attendance:
N/A
By Field Level Media
Jonas Brodin scored 18 seconds into overtime, and the host Minnesota Wild beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 in St. Paul, Minn., on Sunday night.
Victor Rask scored two goals, Jordan Greenway had a goal and an assist and Joel Eriksson Ek had two assists for the Wild. Cam Talbot had 22 saves in his return to the crease, with his previous game on Jan. 22 when he suffered a lower-body injury.
Joonas Donskoi, Cale Makar and Brandon Saad scored and Hunter Miska stopped 29 shots for the Avalanche, who lost another player to injury.
Nathan MacKinnon had two assists for Colorado before leaving with a lower-body injury. MacKinnon played the first two periods but didn't return for the third.
Minnesota won the opening faceoff in overtime and never gave up possession. Greenway fed Brodin in the slot, and his one-timer beat Miska. It was Brodin's second of the season.
Both teams are dealing with injuries. The Wild placed defenseman Matt Dumba on injured reserve after suffered a leg injury on a collision with teammate on Saturday night and was also without Marcus Johansson with an undisclosed injury suffered Saturday. Marcus Foligno was placed on the NHL COVID-19 protocol Sunday and Kevin Fiala served the second of his three-game suspension.
Colorado dressed just 11 forwards before losing MacKinnon. In the last two games the Avalanche have lost defensemen Devon Toews (foot injury) and Erik Johnson (undisclosed) and forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare to a leg injury.
They were already without goaltender Pavel Francouz (lower body) and Matt Calvert (upper body).
Colorado scored first when Donskoi buried a centering pass from MacKinnon at 4:33 of the first, his fifth goal of the season. Minnesota answered at 16:19 when Greenway knocked in a loose puck near the crease for his second of the season.
Rask put the Wild ahead just 1:28 in the middle period but the Avalanche got even when Makar scored in the slot at 3:31 of the second, his first goal of the season.
Saad gave Colorado the lead again with his fifth at 7:09 of the third, however Rask's second of the game and third of the season at 12:34 tied it at 3-3.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Colorado |
|
Minnesota |
|
Nathan MacKinnon 2 |
Points |
Victor Rask 2 |
|
Joonas Donskoi 1 |
Goals |
Victor Rask 2 |
|
Nathan MacKinnon 2 |
Assists |
Joel Eriksson Ek 2 |
|
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Hunter Miska .879 |
Save Percentage |
Cam Talbot .880 |
|
Hunter Miska 29 |
Saves |
Cam Talbot 22 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Colorado
|
25 |
3 |
0-4 |
3-3 |
6 |
31 |
| Minnesota
|
33 |
4 |
0-3 |
4-4 |
8 |
35 |
Upcoming Games
-
Minnesota will play their next game on the road against Colorado. The Wild have a W/L % of .400 after a win and .750 after a loss.
-
Colorado will play their next game at home against Minnesota. The Avalanche have a W/L % of .500 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.
For more information, contact us