Nathan MacKinnon delivered the coup de grâce—or maybe the crude de grâce—in the shootout, as the Colorado Avalanche drilled their way out of Oil Country with a 2-1 win.

Sam Malinski provided the breakthrough, and Colorado was flawless when it mattered most—going a perfect 3-for-3 in the shootout. Behind them, Scott Wedgewood was rock-solid, turning aside 30 of 31 shots. The Avalanche also dug in defensively, killing off all three Edmonton power plays, including a tense 1:24 5-on-3 in the third.

Connor McDavid provided the lone goal for Edmonton, while Connor Ingram was outstanding in a 30-save performance.

With the win, Colorado pushed its record to an impressive 53-16-11.

At the 9:45 mark, Martin Nečas showed impressive poise with the puck, sliding a crisp cross-ice feed to Jack Drury at the left circle. Drury snapped a quick shot on goal, but Ingram held firm, turning aside the chance to keep things scoreless.

Late in the frame, MacKinnon stepped into a one-timer from the point with under a minute to play, only to see it glance just wide of the right post.

Moments later, Adam Henrique was whistled for a questionable holding penalty, sending Colorado to the man advantage. Despite being down a skater, Edmonton generated an odd-man rush, but Wedgewood stood tall, flashing the blocker to deny Darnell Nurse and preserve the deadlock heading into the intermission.

Colorado opened the period on the power play, carrying over time from the Henrique minor, but Edmonton’s penalty kill held strong and disrupted any early momentum.

Just over six minutes in, the Oilers were tagged with a too-many-men penalty, offering Colorado another opportunity. Once again, the Avalanche couldn’t capitalize, dropping to 0-for-2 on the man advantage.

They didn’t need the power play for long. A turnover behind the Edmonton net proved costly, as Nic Roy spotted Sam Malinski drifting into the slot. The pass connected, and Malinski wasted no time wiring a shot top shelf to break the ice and give Colorado a 1-0 lead.

Later in the period, Brock Nelson was sent off for hooking with 8:15 remaining, but Colorado’s penalty kill answered the call. Still, Edmonton kept pushing, and with just over four minutes to play, a bouncing puck found its way through a crowded zone and onto McDavid’s stick at the right circle. With hardly a second to think, he corralled it and snapped a blistering wrister past Wedgewood to even the score.

Colorado earned its third power play after Ryan Nugent-Hopkins caught Valeri Nichushkin with a slash to the wrist, but the opportunity slipped away. Shortly after, Nichushkin was sent off himself for slashing Connor Murphy, flipping the momentum.

Things escalated quickly. Just 36 seconds into the kill, Parker Kelly was penalized for closing his hand on the puck and tossing it out of the zone, handing Edmonton a lengthy 5-on-3.

The Avalanche dug in and survived the extended disadvantage, highlighted by a tense moment when Brett Kulak’s attempted clearance struck McDavid flush on the right ankle. The Oilers captain needed a moment on the bench but returned soon after, none the worse.

Neither side could find a breakthrough the rest of the way, and with regulation unable to separate them, the game rolled into overtime.

Colorado pushed hard to end it early, but the hockey gods had other plans. MacKinnon rang one off the crossbar—twice—while Gabe Landeskog added iron of his own. Close calls, but no finish. The deadlock held, sending things to a shootout.

It had all the drama of a wild west duel, with five of six shooters finding twine. McDavid opened the scoring, Nichushkin answered, and Nugent-Hopkins followed suit. Nečas kept the parade going, but Wedgewood delivered the turning point with a clutch stop on Roslovic.

That set the stage for MacKinnon. With the game on his stick, he didn’t miss—sealing it and sending Colorado out of Oil Country with a hard-earned 3-2 win.