Cale Makar’s late power-play goal salvages point for Avalanche in shootout loss

NASHVILLE The power play helped the Colorado Avalanche salvage a point and turned a regulation loss into a coin toss For the fourth time in as a great number of tries this season the shootout did not flip the Avs way This one took a scary turn though Ryan O Reilly scored the lone shootout goal for the Nashville Predators in a - domination Tuesday night at Bridgestone Arena O Reilly scored as the first shooter but then Filip Forsberg crashed into Avs goalie Scott Wedgewood during the second attempt Wedgewood was down for a bit but stayed in the event and faced Nashville s third shooter Steven Stamkos Before Avs captain Gabe Landeskog could attempt to extend the shootout with Colorado s third try the NHL s concussion spotter made Wedgwood leave the ice It was the spotter from the collision I guess Avs coach Jared Bednar reported Their call I have nothing to do with it If they see something they think is fishy they call down for the safety of the players They just tell you he s going to come out and he comes out Mackenzie Blackwood didn t have to face a shot because Landeskog did not figure and the Avs fell to - in the skills competition this season That was secondary on the players minds after the battle to Wedgewood s wellbeing Forsberg did not speak with the Nashville media after the tournament I don t even know what happened Blackwood mentioned You shouldn t crash into him like that in the shootout I don t know it was definitely weird Cale Makar scored during a -on- power play with seconds left in regulation It was a shot from the top of the zone through traffic It helped the Avs avoid what would have been a third regulation loss in games - - Martin Necas and Nathan MacKinnon assisted on Makar s goal the second assist of the night for both players MacKinnon now leads the NHL with points while Necas is up to That was Makar s th goal of the season and his first on the power play I liked a couple of our power plays the first one especially Bednar noted Then you get down to the nitty-gritty at the end The -on- was hard working draws a penalty to give us a little bit more of an advantage Related Articles Despite historically great start Avalanche has a weakness to fix the power play Why the Colorado Avalanche started Mackenzie Blackwood on back-to-back days Mackenzie Blackwood Avalanche fend off pesky Flyers in - win Nathan MacKinnon s highlight-reel overtime goal propels Avalanche past Igor Shesterkin Rangers Avalanche Journal Could Brock Nelson s hot streak help him find a depth role on the U S Olympic company I like the fact that we didn t force anything but we took a couple good looks and eventually Cale s shot finds its way through Brady Skjei s shot from the right point fluttered off a stick and through a maze of bodies in front with remaining in the third period to give the Predators a - advantage Wedgewood made his first start since leaving the competition against Vancouver a week ago with back tightness and he made saves The Avs have outscored their opponents - in the third period this season which is easily the best differential in the NHL by any club in any period Brock Nelson put the Avs on the board first just seconds into the opening period Josh Manson sent the puck to Nelson just before he reached the offensive zone Nelson deked past Predators defenseman Roman Josi near the top of the left circle and then slipped a backhanded shot through Juuse Saros legs for his th goal of the season Nashville scored twice in seconds to grab the lead Jonathan Marchessault got free on a coverage bust as the Predators entered the zone during a power play Wedgewood stopped his first attempt but looked beneath him for the puck as it kicked right back to Marchessault for an easy one at of the first The Avalanche won a defensive zone faceoff but the puck ended up in its net seven seconds later Reid Schaefer went into the right corner and checked Makar He fell and took partner Devon Toews out of the play the puck squirted free and Schaefer had an open path to the net He went across the face of the Avs goal and tucked one just inside the left post at At that point the shots were - in Nashville s favor and the guys in mustard yellow were in front Colorado evened the result midway through the opening period and then dominated the second despite neither association finding a goal Artturi Lehkonen detected the rebound of a Necas shot at the edge of the crease spun and beat Saros inside the left post for his th goal of the season at Both Lehkonen and Nelson are now scoring at a -goal pace MacKinnon created the offensive possession with a nifty backhanded catch on a pass from Lehkonen in the neutral zone and then took the puck away from ex-Avs center O Reilly and got to Necas to start the scoring sequence MacKinnon became the first NHL member to reach for the second straight season It s also the second-fastest an Avalanche member has reached points since the franchise moved to Denver Playing in his th career competition MacKinnon also moved into th on the NHL career leaderboard with points Colorado s power play helped win the match Sunday in Philadelphia scoring a critical goal in a - preeminence and helped earn at least a point in this one The Avs had back-to-back-to-back power plays late in the second period and early in the third with this tournament even at - but could not convert The fourth time was the charm though and the Avs are now for on with the man advantage this season We ve just got to keep building keep finding means to do it Makar declared We ve got to find options to capitalize -on- and put ourselves in a good spot to win the championship earlier rather than fight back at the end Want more Avalanche news Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis