Nathan MacKinnon scores in OT as Avalanche rally past Stars 5-4
Dallas Stars goaltender Scott Wedgewood, bottom right, lies on the ice after allowing a goal to Colorado Avalanche right wing Mikko Rantanen, not visible, during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024 in Dallas. The Avalanche won 5-4 in overtime. Credit: AP/Julio Cortez
DALLAS — Nathan MacKinnon scored his second goal at 3:40 of overtime as the Colorado Avalanche rallied from a pair of two-goal deficits to beat the Dallas Stars 5-4 on Thursday night.
All five Colorado goals came from its top line. Jonathan Drouin had two goals for his seventh career multigoal game and Mikko Rantanen also scored. Alexandar Georgiev stopped 28 shots in his league-leading 21st win and 32nd start.
The Avs have 12 comeback wins, one short of leaders Dallas and New Jersey, and have scored an NHL-best 53 third-period goals.
“When we went all the way a couple of years ago and won, we were a really resilient group,” said MacKinnon, who’s tied with Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov with 64 points and was named an NHL All-Star for the seventh time earlier Thursday. “This year we’re kind of back to that.”
Tyler Seguin scored two goals, and Joe Pavelski and Evgenii Dadonov also scored for the Stars. Scott Wedgewood made 29 saves.
MacKinnon broke in on a 2-on-0 break with Devon Toews and beat Wedgewood stick side for the game-winner. He also had an assist for the Central Division-leading Avalanche, who have a season-best seven-game points streak (6-0-1).
Seguin’s second goal came at 9:07 of the third period for a 4-2 lead. He has four goals against Colorado in two games this season.
Dallas Stars goaltender Scott Wedgewood reacts after giving up a goal against the Colorado Avalanche during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024 in Dallas. Credit: AP/Julio Cortez
Less than a minute later, Drouin’s second goal pulled the Avalanche within 4-3.
Dallas’ Radek Faksa shot just wide of the empty net from center ice about 40 seconds before Rantanen’s tying goal.
“We had the game on our stick a bunch of times down the stretch, including with the empty net to finish it off and didn’t,” Stars coach Peter DeBoer said. “It bit us in the end.”
The Avalanche have two come-from-behind wins at Dallas this season. They trailed 3-2 after two periods on Nov. 18 and scored four third-period goals for a 6-3 win.
Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon, center, celebrates with teammate Valeri Nichushkin (13) after scoring a goal on Dallas Stars goaltender Scott Wedgewood (41) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024 in Dallas. Stars' Ryan Suter, second from left, and Matt Duchene (95) look on. Credit: AP/Julio Cortez
Nine of Dallas' last 10 games have been decided by one goal (5-2-2).
Dadonov scored his ninth goal of the season in the first after having scored seven all last season.
Defensemen Miro Heiskanen of Dallas and Bowen Byram of Colorado left play during the third period. Heiskanen is Dallas’ top defenseman and leads the team’s blueliners with 26 points.
“Obviously, 22-, 24-plus minutes every night — he's a big part of the team,” Wedgewood said of Heiskanen.
Wedgewood is 6-2-2 since replacing Jake Oettinger, who was also named to the NHL All-Star roster and has been sidelined with a lower-body injury since leaving a game on Dec. 15.
UP NEXT
Avalanche: Host the Florida Panthers on Saturday.
Stars: Host Nashville on Saturday night to end a five-game homestand.
