The Anaheim Ducks have had a brutal season on offense. They have also been unable to hold a lead this season. On Friday, both those trends continued in Denver when the Ducks coughed up a two-goal lead and lost, 3-2, to the Colorado Avalanche.
Valeri Nichushkin potted the game-winner at 2:45 of the extra session, it was his second goal of the game.
“A guy like ‘Val’ stepping up tonight, that’s huge,” the Avalanche’s Joonas Donskoi said. “I’m just happy for him. He comes to the rink, he works hard every day, and he really deserved those goals.”
Philipp Grubauer made 26 saves in the win.
Adam Henrique and Jakob Silfverberg were the Ducks strikers over the first and second periods.
“Another one where we’re kind of right there,” Silfverberg said. “But at the end of the day, we get one point. But it’s two points that we want and that we desperately need. Obviously, not satisfied. I think we played a pretty good game, just got to score more goals. We’ve been talking about it all year. We’re doing a lot of good stuff, it’s just the last little bit that it takes to get two points in this league. Unfortunately, we’ve been on the wrong end of it a few too many here lately.”
The Ducks are 0-6-3 in their last nine games..
“It is incredible,” Anaheim head coach Dallas Eakins said. “In overtime there, we had an unbelievable chance and just missed. A couple others as well. The thing is you have no other choice, you just have to keep shooting the puck, getting the puck in the right spot, and staying after it. We are getting our chances. If we weren’t, that would be a different conversation.”
Brandon Saad added a single marker for the Avs.
“I give our team a lot of credit for sticking with it, finding a way to get a little better as the game went on, but as far as what I thought of the game, I didn’t like the game at all,” 
Bednar said. “It was just sloppy, too many turnovers. We looked tired. That first game back off a road trip is tough, but that wasn’t a good game by us.”
John Gibson made 31 saves in the loss.
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