Andrei Kuzmenko scores twice, Canucks beat Avalanche 4-2
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Andrei Kuzmenko scored twice and the Vancouver Canucks beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-2 on Thursday night.
Brock Boeser and J.T. Miller also scored for the Canucks. They snapped a three-game losing streak to improve to 17-18-3.
“We’ve proven that this group can do it,” Miller said. “It’s just about doing it on a regular basis and that being in our DNA as a team and obviously we did it tonight, so felt good.”
Collin Delia stopped 29 shots for Vancouver. Elias Pettersson and Oliver Ekman-Larsson each had two assists.
Mikko Rantanen and Samuel Girard scored for Colorado and Alexandar Georgiev made 39 saves. The defending champion Avalanche are 0-4-1 in their last five to fall to 19-15-3.
“Regardless of the past five games, winning or losing, you have to go out and play your best hockey, otherwise you can’t expect to win and we’re not holding up our end of the bargain on that right now,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said.
A highlight reel play set up Vancouver’s second goal.
Putting the puck between his owns legs, Kuzmenko sprung Pettersson for a partial breakaway. The Swedish center drove into the Colorado zone, took the puck around the net, and got off a shot as he fell to the ice. Kuzmenko then forced the puck in past Georgiev’s skate, tying it at 2 with his 17th goal of the season.
Boeser scored the go-ahead goal 34 seconds later, sending a wrist shot past the netminder from in tight.
UP NEXT
Avalanche: At Edmonton on Saturday.
Canucks: At Winnipeg on Sunday in first game of a five-game trip.
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