The St. Louis Blues were about 54 seconds away from extending their winning streak to four games. Then Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon buried a perfect pass from Matt Duchene to put it on hold (see the video at the top).
The Blues eventually lost to the Avalanche in the shootout by a final score of 2-1, and now face an important Central Division contest with the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday.
A win would’ve put the Blues within three points of Chicago heading into that game. Instead, they pick up the single point to remain four back of the Blackhawks, who have lost two straight after winning 12 consecutive games.
Semyon Varlamov made 33 saves for the win, while Gabriel Landeskog scored the lone goal in the shootout.
Colorado has won seven of its last 10 games but Friday’s result gives the Avalanche some space between it and the other teams chasing for a Wild Card spot. The Avalanche now hold a three-point lead on Nashville for that final spot.
Head coach Patrick Roy said the #Avs will reassign Nikita Zadorov as Erik Johnson is activated from the IR list.
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) January 23, 2016