Valeri Nichushkin Shines in Avalanche's Shootout Loss
Valeri Nichushkin's performance on Thursday night was described as "C'est magnifique" as he helped the Avalanche rally for a point in a 5-4 shootout loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Avalanche debuted their Quebec Nordiques throwbacks but struggled with turnovers and defending early on, as well as power-play struggles throughout the game.
"I thought he was having a great game, maybe his best of the year,"
said Avs coach Jared Bednar, explaining why Nichushkin was promoted to the top power-play unit before scoring the game-tying goal. Nichushkin's second goal of the night came on the club's seventh power-play opportunity, helping Colorado claw back from a 4-1 deficit at 14:09 of the third period.
Author's summary: Nichushkin shines in Avalanche's loss.