Kiefer Sherwood has 1st NHL hat trick as Canucks beat Avalanche 3-1

Updated Dec. 17, 2024 1:37 a.m. ET
Associated Press

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Kiefer Sherwood had his first NHL hat trick and the Vancouver Canucks beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-1 on Monday night.

Thatcher Demko stopped 30 shots as Vancouver won for the second time in five games (2-2-1).

Valeri Nichushkin scored with 46 seconds left for Colorado, and Mackenzie Blackwood finished with 22 saves.

Sherwood had an even-strength goal, a short-handed goal and an empty-netter. He now has a career-high 11 goals on the season, surpassing his career high of 10 set last season for Nashville.

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Mikko Rantanen had an assist for the Avalanche, stretching his point streak to six games (three goals, nine assists).

Takeaways

Canucks: Coach Rick Tocchet criticized his team after an ugly 5-1 loss to Boston on Saturday, saying there were four or five players who were “struggling to get emotionally invested.” His team responded with a physical game against the Avalanche, killing off four penalties, blocking 18 shots and registering 30 hits.

Avalanche: Getting held to one goal was a rare blip for a Colorado team that came in with four wins in its last five games. The Avalanche had outscored their opponents 18-9 across that stretch.

Key moment

Sherwood padded Vancouver’s lead with a short-handed goal with 3:56 left in the second period. He picked a puck off Nathan MacKinnon near the benches and sprinted down the ice, then put a shot up and over Blackwood’s outstretched glove to make it 2-0. Chants of “Kie-fer Sher-wood!” rang out through the arena in response.

Key stat

Colorado went scoreless on four power-play opportunities to fall to 1 for 19 over the last seven games.

Up Next

Avalanche visit San Jose on Thursday, and Canucks visit Utah on Wednesday to open a two-game trip.

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AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL

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