Canucks stop 4-game skid as Miller, MacEwen lead way past Avalanche
Zack MacEwen scored his second goal of the night late in the third period as the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Colorado Avalanche 6-3 Friday to snap a four-game losing streak and climb back into the playoff picture in the tight NHL Western Conference.
J.T. Miller and Antoine Roussel had a goal and an assist each for Vancouver (35-26-6), which managed to hang onto a third-period lead. Troy Stecher and Tanner Pearson, into an empty net, also scored for the Canucks, who had blown third-period leads in their last two losses.
Erik Johnson and Gabriel Landeskog each had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche (40-17-8), who lost in regulation for the first time in 10 games (7-1-2). Valeri Nichushkin added a goal while Nathan MacKinnon had two assists.
The win moves Vancouver into a tie with Winnipeg for the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference with 76 points. Colorado remains second in the West with 88 points, two back of St. Louis.
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Vancouver goaltender Thatcher Demko, making his fifth start for the injured Jacob Markstrom, stopped 29 shots. Avalanche goalie Pavel Francouz made 19 saves.
MacEwen salted the game away at 16:13 of the third when he took a pass from behind the net from Roussel and beat Francouz.
