In the midst of another mid-game comeback — something the Avalanche have made a regular occurrence in recent memory — a successful offside challenge from the opposition was the difference.
The Avs thought they had erased a two-goal deficit against the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday before the second goal was challenged for offsides, and eventually called back. Colorado could not recover, giving up three of the last four goals and falling 6-3 to the Coyotes in its first game at Mullett Arena. The goal that was called back came from Mikko Rantanen before the replay showed that Cale Makar entered the zone offside.
The Avalanche’s goals came from Evan Rodrigues, Makar and Rantanen, who eventually scored later in the third to get his 24th of the season. Centerman J.T. Compher also pitched in with two assists.
Avs coach Jared Bednar announced before the game that Valeri Nichushkin, Martin Kaut and Pavel Francouz were all added to the injured list. Francouz backed up goalie Alexandar Georgiev in Nashville last week, which makes his absence a bit of a surprise. Both Nichushkin and Kaut left that game with an injury and did not return. To replace them, the Avalanche called up forward Charles Hudon and goaltender Jonas Johansson from the AHL to join them on this one-game trip. They also welcomed Andrew Cogliano back into the lineup after a two-game injury absence.
Recent acquisition Denis Malgin was elevated to the second line alongside Alex Newhook and Rodrigues to replace Nichushkin in the top six.
Georgiev made his sixth consecutive start for the Avs and saw his four-game winning streak come to an end. After surrendering just four goals in as many goals, Georgiev stopped 27-of-32 shots, allowing the first five Arizona goals before an empty netter sealed the win for the Yotes late.
