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Ryan O’Hara
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Updated at Jan 13, 2026, 07:32
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The Colorado Avalanche fought hard, but they came up just short tonight.

History denied.

The Colorado Avalanche saw their 17-game home winning streak — one shy of tying a franchise record — come to an end Tuesday night at Ball Arena.

How It Unfolded

In overtime, William Nylander stripped Nathan MacKinnon of the puck and, moments later, outraced the Avalanche superstar up ice before finishing the play himself to secure a 4–3 win for the Toronto Maple Leafs. It marked Colorado’s first home loss in more than two months, though a late goal from Martin Nečas ensured the Avalanche still salvaged a point — something they’ve now done in all 22 home games this season.

With Mackenzie Blackwood still sidelined on injured reserve and Scott Wedgewood dealing with a minor issue, Colorado once again turned to Trent Miner. The 24-year-old, fresh off his first NHL victory, delivered another steady performance, but ultimately couldn’t come up with one more save than Joseph Woll at the other end.

It didn’t help that one puck found the Avalanche net off a teammate.

After Woll denied several early looks from Brock Nelson, Toronto opened the scoring when Easton Cowan sent a puck toward the crease and Brent Burns inadvertently redirected it past Miner with his skate. Colorado answered quickly. Five minutes later, Cale Makar tied the game following some excellent work by Nečas along the boards. Nearly two minutes later, the Avalanche took the lead when Nelson scored five seconds into Colorado’s first power play of the night.

From there, the game began to tilt away from the Avalanche.

Colorado went nearly 13 minutes of the second period without registering a shot on goal. Before they could snap the drought, Toronto tied the game by capitalizing on a breakdown between Victor Olofsson and his defensemen. Olofsson attempted a drop pass, but Bobby McMann jumped it, then beat Sam Girard and Ilya Solovyov up the ice to score on a breakaway and even the game.

That space expanded further when Nečas and Laughton went to the box — Laughton for high-sticking and Nečas for holding — setting the stage for four-on-four hockey. Auston Matthews took full advantage, using Josh Manson as a screen before executing a toe drag and ripping a wrist shot top shelf over Miner’s glove, leaving the goaltender no chance.

As they’ve done all season, the Avalanche didn’t fold. Less than three minutes later, Nečas struck again, finishing a perfect feed from MacKinnon to tie the game. Colorado had a late opportunity to take the lead with Matthews in the box, but struggled to gain the zone with possession and failed to generate a look.

Overtime nearly ended in Colorado’s favor when Nečas set up MacKinnon for a one-timer off the rush, but the shot rang off the crossbar and kept the game alive. The miss proved costly. With just over a minute remaining, Nylander stripped MacKinnon once more and finished the play moments later, sealing the win for Toronto.

Despite the loss, the Avalanche moved to 19-0-3 on home ice and maintained their 12-point cushion atop the Central Division.

Next Game

The Avalanche (33-4-8) square off against the Nashville Predators (21-20-4) on Friday. Coverage will begin at 9 p.m. local time in what is certainly a very late start.