ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Denis Malgin scored for the second consecutive night, Nathan MacKinnon got his fifth goal in five games since the All-Star break and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Minnesota Wild 3-2 on Wednesday.
Andrew Cogliano also scored for Colorado, which recovered from a shootout loss at home to Tampa Bay the previous night. Alexandar Georgiev also bounced back with 41 saves. He allowed 11 goals in the three previous games.
The Avalanche beat Minnesota in the first meeting between the division foes since Oct. 17 despite the Wild holding a 43-19 edge in shots. Colorado had lost three of four, once in overtime and once in a shootout.
Kirill Kaprizov scored his 31st goal and Joel Eriksson Ek added his 21st of the season for Minnesota, which has lost five of six since the All-Star break and been outscored 19-10 in the process.
Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 16 shots for the Wild.
The Avalanche made the most of their scoring chances.
Cogliano opened the scoring with the only goal of the first period. Devon Toews brought the puck into the offensive zone and slid a pass to Cogliano charging in. He sent a quick shot past Fleury for his ninth of the season.
MacKinnon assisted on Malgin’s fourth goal of the season. Malgin, acquired from Toronto in December, wristed a shot with Fleury screened for his second goal with Colorado.
Eriksson Ek deflected a shot from Mats Zuccarello on the power play midway through the second. Eriksson Ek has seven goals and five assists in his past 12 games.
But MacKinnon answered later in the period with his 18th goal of the season. MacKinnon had a six-game goal drought heading into the All-Star break but has five goals and three assists in the five games since.
The Avalanche mustered just 10 shots through two periods, but it was another tough outing for Fleury, who made his first start in three games. He allowed five goals in his last start against Vegas.
Kaprizov brought the Wild within one with 5:53 remaining on his fourth goal in six games.
UP NEXT
Avalanche: Play at St. Louis on Saturday.
Wild: Host the Dallas Stars on Friday.
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