Nathan MacKinnon’s 2 goals help Avalanche beat Canucks 3-1 – Hockey Writer – Colorado Avalanche
In December, the Colorado Avalanche will play the Vancouver Canucks in their second game of the 2025-26 season. The last time the two teams met was on November 9 in Vancouver in overtime, with the Avalanche winning 5-4. The Canucks have won two of their last 10 games and are looking to snap a two-game losing streak. As for the Avalanche, they won their last game against the Montreal Canadiens and are looking to extend their winning streak to 17 games. As the final horn blew, the Avalanche defeated the Canucks 3-1, extending their winning streak.
game review
Both sides scored two goals in the first 20 minutes. The Canucks’ Linus Karlsson scored the first goal of the game on a cross-ice, cross-fold pass from Ashdeep Baynes. He used his backhand to pull the puck past Scott Wedgewood’s far leg at the last second. This was his fifth game of the season, and less than three minutes into the game, the Canucks were out 1-0.
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The Avalanche put pressure on Kevin Rankanen and the Canucks throughout the game, so much so that they outscored the visitors 14-8 in the first quarter. At 19 minutes and 23 seconds into the game, who else besides Nathan MacKinnon tied the score at 1-1. His 21st goal of the season, his 45th, came after Devon Toews picked up a rebound on Sam Malinski’s deflected shot attempt. MacKinnon tied the game with less than a minute left in the opening period.
There were two goals in the second period, both from the Avalanche. Not long ago, with six minutes left in midfield, Ross Colton received a pass from Gabriel Landeskov and set up a 2-on-1 for the captain. Landeskog found Brock Nelson and set him up perfectly for his ninth goal of the season. The Avalanche took their first lead of the game with smooth passing.
With less than a minute left in the game, MacKinnon once again extended the Avalanche’s lead to 3-1 after receiving a pass from Landeskirk. He scored a buzzer-beater, his second goal of the game and his 22nd of the season. Landeskog’s assist was his second of the game, taking his tally to nine this season.
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The third period was scoreless, but the Avalanche maintained a two-goal lead until the final buzzer. They trailed 9-5 in the quarter, but overall, they outscored the Canucks 31-22 after 60 minutes of play.
The Avalanche extended their scoring streak to 17 games with a record of 14 wins, 0 draws and 3 losses. Their home record at Ball Arena this season is also 11 wins, 0 draws and 2 losses. The win brings their record to 18-1-6 and their next game will be against the New York Islanders on Thursday, December 4th. The Canucks have a record of 10 wins, 13 draws and 3 losses this season and have suffered three consecutive losses. Their next game is Friday, December 5 against the Utah Mammoths.
