Avalanche top Coyotes 4-3 in shootout

The Colorado Avalanche were triumphant in a closely-fought match against the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday night.

Big Val comes up clutch!#GoAvsGo https://t.co/nS5c47ydBR

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) March 26, 2023

Valeri Nikuschkin sealed the victory for Colorado with a marvelous goal in the shootout as he nestled the puck past goaltender Conor Ingram.

Miko Rantanen scored his 48th goal of the season, as Bowen Byram added another one for the Avalanche. Goaltender Alexander Georgiev made 27 saves.

“I thought our first 40 minutes was outstanding,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said.

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“We looked like we were standing around in the (defensive) zone. Obviously they came out with another level of intensity and I don’t think we responded real well.”

“We found a way to win in the shootout and we’ll take the two points.”

For Arizona Clayton Keller scored his 36th goal of the season; Matias Maccelli and Christian Fischer also scored.

With the win Colorado sits tied for second with Dallas in the Central Division, trailing Minnesota by one point.