Valeri Nichushkin's goal secures a shootout victory for the Avalanche on their home ice.

Valeri Nichushkin netted the sole goal in a five-round shootout and also scored Colorado's only regulation goal, leading the Avalanche to a 2-1 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday evening. Alexandar Georgiev recorded 18 saves during overtime and added five more in the shootout, contributing to Colorado's seventh win in their last nine games. Pavel Dorofeyev opened the scoring for Vegas at 13:09 of the second period, but Nichushkin equalized just 33 seconds later with an unassisted goal. Adin Hill made 33 saves and three additional stops in the shootout before Nichushkin secured the win. There were no penalties called until Cale Makar received an interference minor at 3:37 of the third period.

Key takeaways for the Golden Knights include returning home after a five-game road trip with a winning record, having lost the first game 3-0 in Toronto but winning the subsequent three before the defeat to Colorado. For the Avalanche, injuries remain a significant concern this season, with winger Jonathan Drouin listed as “week-to-week” due to an upper-body injury, having missed 16 consecutive games earlier in the season. Chase Bradley was recalled and made his NHL debut.

A pivotal moment occurred when Hill made a crucial save on Nichushkin’s close-range shot with just 7.5 seconds remaining, allowing the game to proceed to overtime. Notably, Vegas registered 10 shots on goal in the first period but managed only nine for the remainder of regulation and overtime, with none in the extra period.

Looking ahead, the Golden Knights will host the Winnipeg Jets on Friday night, while the Avalanche will travel to Dallas for the first game of a back-to-back series on the same evening.