Avalanche score late, salvage point in forgettable shootout loss to Wild

It was the third game in four nights for the Colorado Avalanche, and the club did just enough to collect what could be a pivotal point.

Beyond that? This was a forgettable evening in the Twin Cities.

Joel Kiviranta scored to force overtime and Mackenzie Blackwood made 22 saves for the Avalanche in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center.

Even with the loss, the Avs are still three points in front of Minnesota in the Central Division, though the Wild have a game in hand. If the shorthanded Wild can keep pace with the loaded up Avs, only letting Minnesota chip away one point from the deficit could be important at the end of the year.

Some other observations from the evening:

Secondary scoring: Kiviranta continues to be the hottest depth scorer in the NHL. Samuel Girard spun to the middle of the ice and shoveled the puck toward the net. Kiviranta got a piece of it with 5:40 left in regulation. That’s a goal in four straight games for Kiviranta, who continues to score them in bunches this season.

He now has 15 goals this season, and he’s scored nearly all of them in three spurts. He had four in three games in October, five in a three-game span just before Christmas and now four in the past four. Given his solid play without the puck, getting 15 goals from a guy on a league-minimum contract has been huge for the Avs. And … Kiviranta is not going to be making $775,000 next season. Pretty sure there’s going to be an extra comma in his salary.

Mental mistake: A brutal turnover by Martin Necas led to Minnesota claiming a 1-0 lead midway through the second period. Necas tried to backhand a pass from the left wall back into the middle of the defensive zone as the Avs were trying to get out of danger. Instead, Matt Boldy got the puck ahead of Devon Toews, and that set Minnesota up with a 2-on-0 and Mats Zuccarello scored.

It was hard to tell if Necas was trying to get the puck to Toews or Cale Makar, but either way it wasn’t close to either of them. That’s obviously a pass that can’t happen in a key spot next month or beyond. Necas is enjoying more freedom with his new club and playing well, so probably not a lot to say about that one other than “my bad” and move on.

So … much … depth: This is only the third game since the trade deadline, but the Avs have four healthy players too many now. Avs coach Jared Bednar said he’s going to use his new-found depth. So far, Miles Wood and Jimmy Vesey were the forward scratches twice, with Parker Kelly and Logan O’Connor out in the middle game. Keaton Middleton has sat all three, while Erik Johnson (two) and Sam Malinski (one) have both sat as well.

Now that Colorado has a couple days off coming up, it will be interesting to see how Bednar works the rotation at the bottom of his roster. Is anyone else going to sit? Probably. Maybe injuries, even minor dings, will dictate some decisions. But don’t be surprised if at least a couple other forwards get a night off at some point.

Tending goal: This was Blackwood’s 44th start and 47th game of the season. That’s a new career high in starts, and ties the most games he’s appeared in during a season. The Avs only have three more back-to-backs in the final 16 games, but given how well Scott Wedgewood has played recently, he’s probably going to get five or six games down the stretch to help keep Blackwood relatively fresh for the playoffs.

Bracket of death: Speaking of Wedgewood, this was the 41st game for the Avs since they traded for him. That kicked off one of the craziest in-season remodels of a team with Stanley Cup aspirations in NHL history. How is that going?

Well, coming into Monday, the Avs were second in wins (26), fourth in points (54) and second in goal differential (plus-42) since Dec. 1, the day after the Wedgewood trade. That’s all really good. One issue? The Stars and Jets are two of the three teams with more points, and Winnipeg is the club with a better goal differential. As of right now, the Stars are the most likely first-round opponent, and that puts them into a bracket with the Jets.

Battle for third: Colorado has passed Minnesota in the standings, and the Wild are missing some great players. But, if the game Monday night wasn’t enough of a reminder that Minnesota isn’t going to give up third without a fight, the Wild have five more games on this long homestand and four of them are against teams not in a playoff spot right now.

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