Grubauer finally seemed on track for some goal support recently, but due to a series of defensive coverage miscues directly in front of the net it allowed Dylan Holloway to corral a rebound by Tolvanen and score.
At first it appeared the Kraken were headed towards another defeat, but Bjorkstrand’s timely intervention saved them once more.
Frank Vatrano and Mason McTavish Scored
McTavish has quickly established himself as a top-nine forward, becoming more comfortable as the Ducks adapt to him. He set up Sam Carrick for their opening goal and added secondary assists on Troy Terry’s overtime game-winner – all impressive accomplishments for anyone’s playmaking abilities.
McTavish’s efforts during the second period were outstanding. He stormed into the offensive zone and gained an edge on one defender before maneuvering around him to create space and find Frank Vatrano for a sure-shot goal to reduce their deficit to half.
Troy Terry Scored
Bowen Bjorkstrand made clear this game would be contentious from the start when he used his stick to deflect Devon Toews’ point shot past Philipp Grubauer at 16:58 of the second period, setting the stage for what ultimately proved an unruly performance from both teams. And it did just that.
But things soon turned around. Ryan Strome got Anaheim on the scoreboard at 11:12 of the opening period, followed by Vatrano and McTavish to make it 4-0 before halftime. Leo Carlsson tied things up again before Troy Terry added a rebound goal that sent it into overtime.
Roman Josi Scored in Overtime
Roman Josi scored the game-winning goal at 2:13 of overtime to give the Predators a 3-2 victory against the Maple Leafs. Josi took advantage of Luke Evangelista’s drop pass to beat Ilya Samsonov on his blocker side for four goals this season; all four coming on power play.
After Bjorkstrand scored, things looked dire for the Avalanche; but Nathan MacKinnon quickly connected with Bowen Byram on a two-on-one rush and Byram redirected the puck past Philipp Grubauer to tie up the game and give them an impetus to come back into contention. That gave Colorado an enormous lift they never lost momentum with!
Colton Sissons Scored in the Second Period
Colton Sissons notched his team-leading third shorthanded goal of the season midway through the second period, taking a pass from Yakov Trenin and beating Igor Shesterkin for Nashville to take an early advantage. Sissons’ goal marked his debut as a Nashville Predator; previously he played with Milwaukee Admirals and Kelowna Rockets of the WHL.
Mattias Bjorkstrand provided one bright moment for the Ducks when he cleaned up a Tolvanen rebound and put it past Shesterkin to tie up the game at 1-1. Bjorkstrand scored his seventh goal of the year – his fourth consecutive one-goal game!
Roman Josi Scored in the Third Period
Roman Josi scored one minute and 27 seconds into the third period to tie David Legwand for most points by a Nashville defenseman, then later assisted Thomas Novak’s goal to become its all-time scoring leader.
At a pivotal point in the game, Dumoulin scored at an essential moment. After being held without any shot on goal for half of the second period, Dumoulin took advantage of open ice by skating into his zone and changing up his angle before using Cole Smith as a shield to score his goal.
Matt Duchene Scored in the First Period
Duchene scored his sixth goal of the season and second on the power play. The veteran pivot is on pace for a career-best 43 goals and 86 points over 78 games.
Duchene scored on a 2-on-1 rush from Mikael Granlund on a 2-on-1 breakaway in the opening period, giving him five goals and eight points over six games.
Duchene has experienced a successful comeback to NHL hockey at age 31. His best production to date should make him a top-four fantasy option in 2022-23 and an ideal candidate to buy low on before his contract expires next summer.
Roman Josi Scored in the Second Period
Josi scored an even-strength goal and assisted Eeli Tolvanen with his power-play goal in the second period, giving the veteran Swiss defenseman 10 points over eight games this season (28 goals, 55 assists, 107 shots on net and 41 blocked shots).
Josi capitalized on a drop pass from Luke Evangelista near the Maple Leafs blueline by firing a wrist shot past Ilya Samsonov and tying up the game at 2-all, notching his second goal and fourth assist in three games played since.
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