In Denver, the visiting Vancouver Canucks opened the scoring in their game with Avalanche on Tuesday night with a strike by J.T. Miller midway through the opening stanza for a 1-0 lead. 
Colorado shut down the Canucks after that with Ryan Johansen hitting for a double in a 3-1 win to the Avs.
“We played some good hockey; they played good hockey,” Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes said. “We had a chance at the end there. The goalie made a really good save on that one late in the third, and then we had a chance on the power play.”
Alexandar Georgiev made 24 saves in the win.
The Avalanche improved to 35-18-4.
“It’s a really good team, and we had to play really well,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “That was a good hockey game. It was intense, and both teams were disciplined. It was hard fought. When you’re playing a really good team like that and both teams are dialed in, it’s going to be a battle. And that’s what it was. Tonight, we came out on top.”
Johansen picked up his first of the night at 2:54 of the middle frame, scoring off a backhand shot.
“Honestly I didn’t see it, and it went past two guys,” said Johansen, who ended a 20-game goal drought. “Then I was just turning to try and find it and saw it hit the boards, and just tried to shovel it in there.
The Canucks dropped to 37-15-6 off their third straight loss.
“I thought we played a good game,” Vancouver coach Rick Tocchet said. “Probably deserve better, but they made the plays at the end. Did a nice job against [MacKinnon’s line], [Cale] Makar. Those guys are special players, and I thought we did a really nice job against them. It was hard. It’s one of those things that we just couldn’t score to get the equalizer.”
Johansen collected his double with 95 seconds gone in the third period for a 2-1 lead to the Avs.
“It feels great,” Johansen said. “It’s funny because you go through periods and moments and times in your career, and I’ve been through these before. Then like tonight, it’s off the backboards and a bounce to an empty net, and then it’s a shot to the net that’s off a guy’s hip and in.
“You kind of just laugh, and it just kind of reminds you, I guess, you’ve just got to stick with it and keep going. But it’s definitely nice for a couple to go in, and hopefully I can get some swagger from that and keep helping the group.”
Artturi Lehkonen hit an empty net with 28 seconds left on the clock for the 3-1 final count on the scoreboard. 
Thatcher Demko made 24 saves in the loss.
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