Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and three assists and Cale Makar had two goals and an assist, as the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Edmonton Oilers 5-4 on Friday, in the final game for both teams before the 4 Nations Face-Off break.
Artturi Lehkonen and Martin Necas also scored for the Avalanche (33-22-2), who have won four of their last five.
Leon Draisaitl and Corey Perry each had a pair of goals for the Oilers (34-17-4), who had a two-game winning streak halted.
“Just not sharp enough defensively, and obviously a couple of mistakes that ended up in the back of our net,” Draisaitl said after the game.”
Mackenzie Blackwood made 23 stops to collect the win in net for the Avalanche.
Calvin Pickard recorded 17 saves in the loss for the Oilers, coming in to start the second period after starter Stuart Skinner allowed three goals on 12 shots in the opening frame.
The first period saw each team score twice for a total of four goals in a span of just two minutes and 34 seconds.
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“Definitely, they’re probably the most dangerous team off the rush and we kept feeding that transition,” Oilers forward Zach Hyman said.
“It’s not fun when that happens.”
Takeaways
Avalanche: Makar leads all NHL defenceman in goals (22) and points (63) and is on pace for career years in both. The most goals he has had was 28 in 2021-22, the year he won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenceman, while his best season for points was 90 last year.
Oilers: Perry has six goals in his last nine games. The cagey 39-year-old veteran has 12 goals in 54 games this season, equalling the 12 goals in 54 games he had last season, split between the Chicago Blackhawks and Edmonton.
Key moment
Colorado took a 5-4 lead with 4:22 left as Pickard made a big stop on MacKinnon, but he tracked down his own rebound and sent it across to Necas, who snapped home his 20th of the season.
Drai’s the guy
Draisaitl scored his league-leading 40th goal of the season, becoming the fourth active player in the NHL to have at least six seasons with 40 goals. The German forward is third in Oilers franchise history with the six 40-goal campaigns, behind Wayne Gretzky (nine) and Jari Kurri (seven). He’s just the sixth European to achieve the 40-goal milestone six times in his career.
Key stat
Either Connor McDavid or McKinnon have been among the three finalists for the Hart Trophy for all of the last eight seasons, with McDavid winning in 2016-17, 2020-21 and 2022-23 and McKinnon emerging on top in 2023-24. Additionally, Draisaitl won the Hart in 2019-20.
Up next
Avalanche: Return from the 4 Nations Face-Off break on Feb. 22 in Nashville against the Predators
Oilers: Are off until Feb. 22 when they hit the road to face the Philadelphia Flyers.
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