Recap: Valeri Nichushkin carries team in Colorado win over Vegas

1 day ago  /  Mile High Hockey  /  Read Time: 2 minutes 31 seconds

Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images


He is making a statement to those who doubted him. Valindicated.
The Colorado Avalanche and the Las Vegas Golden Knights gave each other all they had Wednesday night at Ball Arena. At the end of regulation, that same energy carried over into overtime and even the shootout, which verged into epic category, until Valeri Nichushkin scored the lone goal in the fifth round to give his team a hard-earned 2-1 victory.
Nichushkin, who has scored five points in six games since returning from a much-publicized six-month suspension, also accounted for the team’s lone goal in regulation. Alexandar Georgiev came through with 18 saves, and stood tall in the shootout. Adin Hill made 33 saves, but his heroic effort came up short.
Epic Slugfest
Both teams went scoreless for the opening 33 minutes before exchanging goals within a span of 33 seconds. The Golden Knights struck first when Pavel Dorofeyev beat Georgiev at 13:09 of the second period, capitalizing on a crafty play executed by Alex Pietrangelo and Ivan Barbashev.
Dorofeyev continues to shine for Vegas this season. Last year, he had 13 goals in 47 games. He has nearly eclipsed that mark already with 12 on the year, which leads his team.
Here comes Chu Chu
Colorado’s top line came through at 13:42 in the second period. After a failed attempt to make a play, the Avalanche lost control of the puck, but not for long. Artturi Lehkonen, like a police officer chasing down a suspect, pursued William Karlsson until he fumbled the loot, that being the puck. And Nichushkin was ready for the moment and snapped a shot from the slot that caught Hill by surprise. Boom! Nichushkin’s bomb was his second goal of the season. His return has been a much-needed boost for a Colorado offense that has been inconsistent at times this year, especially at 5-on-5.
Takeaways
When the Avalanche are on it, they’re on it. When they’re not, they’re really off their game. Fortunetely, this was a good night for Colorado. Vegas controlled the puck better in the opening period and were outmuscling the Avalanche against the boards. But once adjustments were made, Colorado controlled the action, but like pitcher’s duels in baseball, this was clearly a goaltender battle in net between Georgiev and Hill.
In some ways, this was a bounce-back performance for Georgiev, who smashed his stick off the crossbar and chucked it across the ice after a Lightning goal in an ugly 8-2 Monday night in Tampa, Florida. Justus Annunen was yanked after allowing three goals early, and Georgiev couldn’t stop the bleeding. The latter was also pulled after the second period, giving Annunen another shot to regain his mojo, only to allow two more in the net.
Georgiev rebounded with a tremendous performance, albeit he didn’t have to face a lot of shots tonight. And that’s also a credit to this Avalanche team. This was a good, all-around game from both sides. The Knights controlled the pace in the early frame, but as the game went on, Colorado continued to pour consistent pressure on Vegas and spent more time in the attacking zone, creating more scoring chances. In the end, it came down to finally getting a puck past Hill, who, again, was incredible between the pipes. Leave it to the guy who has been on the receiving end of mass criticism over the last few years, Val Nichushkin.
Perhaps the worst of his struggles are behind him. If that’s the case, those of us who had given up hope on Nichushkin, myself included, owe him an apology. This team desperately needs him and he came through big tonight.

Upcoming
Yeehaw! The Avalanche head back on the road to face the Dallas Stars on Friday at American Airlines Center. Puck drop is at 8 p.m. MT on TNT for everyone. ...

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