Colorado drops third straight, trails Panthers
Evander Kane scored three goals in the second period as the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Avalanche 6-3 on Friday night at Rogers Place in Edmonton.
The loss was Colorado’s third consecutive after clinching the Central Division title and Western Conference’s No. 1 playoff seed last week.
The Avs (55-17-6), who have four remaining regular-season games, finished 2-1-0 against the Oilers, with both wins coming beyond regulation.
Colorado, which has now lost three straight games for the first time since October, remained two points behind the Eastern Conference-leading Florida Panthers in the President’s Trophy race. The Panthers have a game in hand.
Kane scored the Oilers’ first, third and fourth goals in a dominating middle frame against the Avs and goalie Darcy Kuemper. Kane used a wraparound goal to tie the game 1-1 and after the teams traded goals before he tapped in a feed following an expired power play from defenseman Duncan Keith for Edmonton’s 3-2 lead.
Kane split two defensemen to complete his fourth career NHL hat trick at 14:20 of the period.
Kailer Yamamoto used a backhander to beat Kuemper for Edmonton’s 5-2 lead midway through the third period.
Avalanche center Nathan Mackinnon scored late in the third period with Kuemper on the bench for a sixth attacker. The Oilers’ Kris Russell scored on the empty net in the ensuing shift.
The Avs took a 1-0 lead out of the first period with a goal from winger Valeri Nichushkin 8:29 into the game. Nichushkin was the trailer on a 3-on-1 attack with defensive partners Cale Makar and Bo Byram.
Makar slid the puck to Byram and he dished it to Nichushkin, who one-timed it past goalie Mike Smith for his 23rd goal of the season.
Nichushkin added his second goal of the game to tie it 2-2 at 4:18 of the second period.
But Kane and the Oilers took over en route to their 46th win and reached 98 points to solidify their standing as the Pacific Division’s No. 2 playoff seed.
Footnotes. Winger Mikko Rantanen, the club’s leading scorer, missed his second straight game with a NON-COVID illness. … Backup Avalanche goalie Pavel Francouz was struck in the head with the puck while sitting on the bench in the first period. He was escorted to the dressing room with a facial injury and did not return. … Colorado will travel to Winnipeg and complete its three-game road trip on Sunday against the Jets. … The Avs also continued to play without defensemen Devon Toews, Erik Johnson and Ryan Murray and forward Gabe Landeskog. … Rookie forward Ben Meyers was Colorado’s only healthy scratch.