Nathan MacKinnon’s highlight-reel overtime goal propels Avalanche past Igor Shesterkin, Rangers

NEW YORK This Colorado Avalanche group almost had a rare bit of genuine adversity to deal with but Nathan MacKinnon remains a cheat code MacKinnon scored a beautiful overtime goal his second of the competition to help the Colorado Avalanche fend off Igor Shesterkin and the New York Rangers His league-leading th goal of the season gave the Avs a - win Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden Martin Necas assisted on all three goals Shesterkin was immense making saves but the Avs became the first NHL group to wins this season - - I m glad that he got that one for more reasons than not Avs coach Jared Bednar explained I just think he could have had five tonight I thought Shesterkin robbed him on multiple occasions and on that one he kind of waited him out and made a beautiful move after dancing around the zone for a while Big goal for us obviously to get the band back on track after the other night MacKinnon Necas and Cale Makar have been on the wrong end of all three overtime goals against for the Avs this season They made several magic this time around Bednar did not put that trio out early in the overtime opting for Artturi Lehkonen instead of Necas When they were reunited on MacKinnon s second shift they were able to catch former Colorado College center Noah Laba and defenseman Will Borgen out on the ice for more than a minute MacKinnon deked past Borgen and then roofed a backhanded shot into the top-left corner before an emphatic celebration The last time I cut back before the goal I heard someone from the bench say they re tired and that gave me a little confidence I think that I could try something and if I miss I could still get back because they re gassed MacKinnon announced Whoever it was it might have been Ross Colton it was a good call by him MacKinnon scored with remaining in the third period to put Colorado in front Necas shot the puck from near the left point and MacKinnon was there at edge of the crease to bat the rebound out of the air and past Shesterkin to give the Avs a - lead It was his rd goal of the season looked like the game-winning tally until it wasn t The Hart Trophy winner also leads the NHL with points in games That s a -point pace which is how various he had in his MVP season It s not just off the rush It s not just on the power play not just from one spot It s all over the place Avs captain Gabe Landeskog disclosed He s got strengths just like anybody else but when specific things aren t working he s going to find different places to outcome He proved that tonight The Avs sustained their first multi-goal loss of the season Thursday night a - defeat to the New York Islanders Then for the first time this season the Avalanche allowed a -on- goal against Artemi Panarin s one-timer from the left point with seconds left evened the outcome and sent this contest to overtime Colorado had two clearing attempts that nearly trickled into New York s empty net but both ended up as icings and helped the Rangers keep the pressure on There was an official review to see if Panarin had played the puck with a high stick earlier in the possession but it was ruled a legal play and a good goal Sometimes the first contest of a roadie out East here can be tough It was a tough loss MacKinnon revealed I thought the Rangers took it to us early and then after that it was our contest So a good response Parker Kelly put the Avalanche in front at of the second period Necas carried the puck into the offensive zone on the left side and circled behind the net before connecting with Sam Malinski at the right point Kelly was able to get a piece of Malinski s point shot while on his knees and it fluttered by Shesterkin for his sixth goal of the season Connor Sheary evened the outcome early in the third period with a slick individual effort The Avs had a long shift in the offensive zone that created multiple scoring chances but J T Miller and Vincent Trocheck combined to spring Sheary on a counter attack Related Articles Avalanche Journal Could Brock Nelson s hot streak help him find a depth role on the U S Olympic squad Avalanche coach Jared Bednar sounds off on controversial goal Goalie interference is a joke Avalanche point streak ends at games with - loss to Patrick Roy s Islanders Keeler While Broncos Nikola Jokic own Denver s eyeballs Avalanche s Nathan MacKinnon quietly putting up best season in Colorado history Nathan MacKinnon Avalanche keep white-hot start rolling with home win against Canucks Sheary made a nifty move to find space against Necas and was able to maintain possession despite a Makar attempted stick lift before snapping a shot past Blackwood at of the third The Avs aren t getting a lot of power-play chances lately and they re doing even less with them Not converting the opportunities has been a season-long issue the one part of the machine that hasn t been firing properly for large chunks of the campaign They had two opportunities in this championship and did create four shots on goal in the four minutes but Colorado is now for in the past games Colorado controlled this event at even strength for bulk of the afternoon Shesterkin kept the Rangers within striking distance with several central saves In the end the Avs bounced back from one of their worst games of the season with a strong effort Often you get on a run then you lose one and it snowballs to two three four before you pick yourselves up Bednar mentioned We were able to do it tonight especially in the areas that we longed to be better We competed hard Decisions were better We played a smart defensive hockey challenge I ll take that every day Want more Avalanche news Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis