Wednesday, March 27, 2019 10:00 PM (ET)

Avs edge Knights to set up showdown with Coyotes

Field Level Media
Mar 28, 2019

Tyson Barrie had a goal and two assists, and Nathan MacKinnon added a goal and an assist to lead the Colorado Avalanche to a 4-3 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday night in Denver.

Matt Calvert and Gabriel Bourque also scored goals for Colorado, which won for the fifth time in six games and moved two points ahead of Arizona for the second Western Conference wild-card spot.

The Avalanche and Coyotes, who both have five games remaining, meet Friday night in Denver.

Barrie's second-period goal, which came on a long wrist shot from just inside the blue line into the top right corner, was his 12th of the season and the 73rd of his career, passing Sandis Ozolinsh (72) for the most by a defenseman in Avalanche/Nordiques franchise history.

Philipp Grubauer made 34 saves to pick up his career-high 16th win of the season, improving to 5-0-1 in his past six starts.

Alex Tuch and Paul Stastny each had a goal and an assist, and Reilly Smith also scored for Vegas, which lost its third straight game and remained a point shy of clinching a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Golden Knights goalie Malcolm Subban, playing in his sixth straight game for injured Marc-Andre Fleury, finished with 26 saves.

Colorado jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period behind goals by Calvert, his first in 17 games and 11th of the season, and MacKinnon, who spun around at the top of the left circle and then beat Subban with a wrist shot past a screen by Colin Wilson for his 38th goal of the season.

The Avalanche made it 3-0 early in the second period on Barrie's goal, but Vegas rallied to cut it to 3-2 on goals by Stastny and Smith just 3:50 apart. Bourque put the Avalanche back up by two goals just before the end of the period with just his second goal of the season, snapping a wrist shot from the right circle past Subban's blocker side.

Vegas closed to within 4-3 with 3:23 remaining in the game on Tuch's 20th goal of the season. Tuch batted in a rebound of a Stastny shot in front of the net. Jonathan Marchessault had a chance to tie it in the final seconds but fired a bouncing puck just wide of the net.

--Field Level Media

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