MacKinnon scores in OT to cap Avalanche's rally
DETROIT -- Center Nathan MacKinnon scored 2:55 into overtime, lifting the Colorado Avalanche to a 4-3 come-from-behind win over the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday night at Little Caesars Arena.
MacKinnon joined defenseman Erik Johnson with a goal and an assist and right winger Nail Yakupov and center Carl Soderberg also scored for Colorado, which trailed 3-1 in third period. Defenseman Tyson Barrie had two assists and goalie Jonathan Bernier stopped 21 shots.
Forwards Justin Abdelkader and Andreas Athanasiou and defenseman Niklas Kronwall scored for Detroit. Goalie Jimmy Howard made 33 saves.
MacKinnon beat Howard from the left circle on a 2-on-1 break for the game winner.
Soderberg tied the game at 3 with 46 seconds left and Bernier pulled for the extra attacker. MacKinnon's shot went in off Soderberg's back for his third goal.
Yakupov made it 3-2 with a power-play goal with 6:15 left. His shot from the right circle went in off Howard for Yakupov's sixth goal.
Athanasiou gave the Red Wings a 2-1 lead with 57 seconds left in the second period when he scored on a breakaway. He made a couple of moves and put in a forehand shot for Athanasiou's fifth goal of the season.
Kronwall made it 3-1 with a power-play goal with 8;53 left. He put in a one-time slap shot from the high slot for his first goal of the season.
Detroit killed off a 47-second 5-on-3 disadvantage in the middle of the second period.
Abdelkader opened the scoring with 5:59 left in the opening period when he tipped Dylan Larkin's shot out of the air and past Bernier. It was Abdelkader's fourth goal.
Johnson tied it with 16 seconds left in the first with a one-timer from the point in the middle of the ice. It was Johnson's first goal of the season.
NOTE: Detroit D Danny Dekeyser returned after missing 17 games with a fractured ankle. He was paired with D Mike Green. ... It was the second of back-to-back games for Colorado. The Avalanche lost 5-2 to the Predators in Nashville on Saturday night. ... The Red Wings were without RW Martin Frk because of a groin injury. ... Scratched for the Avalanche were LW Gabriel Bourque and D Andrei Mironov, who scored his first career goal Saturday night. ... LW-C Darren Helm returned for Detroit after missing a game with a lower-body injury. ... Red Wings RW-D Luke Witkowski served the second contest of a 10-game suspension for returning to the ice after receiving a game misconduct during a brawl Wednesday night in an 8-2 win against the Calgary Flames.