Mikko Rantanen scored his 53rd and 54th goals of the season and Nathan MacKinnon tied the game late in the third period before giving the Colorado Avalanche the overtime win Sunday night in a 5-4 win over at the Anaheim Ducks.
With his 54 goals, Rantanen, who was also an accomplice to MacKinnon’s two goals, tied the team mark set by Joe Sakic in 2000-2001. The franchise record belongs to Michel Goulet, who scored 57 goals in 1982-83 with the Quebec Nordiques.
MacKinnon ends the game with three points. He has scored 39 goals since the start of the season. JT Compher was Colorado’s other scorer with his 17th. Devon Toews and Valeri Nichushkin had three and two assists respectively.
The Avalanche scored the first two goals of the game, but allowed four unanswered goals and trailed by two goals halfway through the third. They then scored three times on the power play to snatch the victory for the Ducks.
Rantanen got the lead to one goal with 7:51 on the clock and MacKinnon tied the game with 4:32 to go. He then put the finishing touches with a one-timer after 4:15 of play dominated by the Avalanche in overtime.
This victory allows Colorado to take a two-point lead over the Dallas Stars at the top of the Central Division.
Anaheim loses its second overtime game in as many nights. The Ducks have not won in their last 11 games (0-9-2).
Frank Vatrano scored twice in the loss. He now has 22 goals, two shy of his personal high set in 2018-19 with the Florida Panthers. His 41 points represent a new personal best for the 29-year-old American.
Adam Henrique also scored his 22nd and Brett Leason was the Ducks’ other scorer.
The Avalanche had the upper hand 46-23 in shots on goal: 17-8 in the second, 18-6 in the third and 4-0 in overtime.