MacKinnon’s shootout goal gives Avs 2-1 win over Maple Leafs Cup-hungry Bruins shrug off shot at NHL records Hurricanes’ Andrei Svechnikov out for season with torn ACL Connor McDavid puts NHL on notice with goal-scoring frenzy Flyers interim GM Danny Briere believes franchise needs a rebuild

TORONTO (AP) Nathan McKinnon was the sole scorer in the shootout as the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 on Wednesday night.

Mikko Rantanen scored mostly for Colorado (38-22-6).

McKinnon’s five-game goal streak came to an end, but his performance led Colorado to victory.

“Great play,” Avalanche defender. Bowen Byram said McKinnon, who has scored 15 goals in his last 15 games. “He’s the guy our team is following. When he leaves, I feel like everyone else is sharper.”

Alexander Georgiev made 17 saves for an injury-ravaged Colorado (38-22-6), who found his game after the All-Star break and moved up five points from the Central Division-leading Dallas Stars with two games to spare.

“A commitment to how we have to play to succeed is the key to this,” said Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar. “Some nights we are as good as we want to be. It seems like recently we wanted to win these hockey games. We know they are important. Winning the division isn’t everything, it’s the end of everything. But certainly having such short-term goals and chasing the teams that are ahead of us is part of that.

“It’s part of the game with little pressure, even if it’s self-inflicted.”

Morgan Rilly scored for Toronto (40-18-9). Ilya Samsonov stopped 28 shots.

“We didn’t give up anything,” said Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe. “They checked very carefully to show you what the Stanley Cup winning team is doing in terms of defense.

“They are well known for the attack they can generate with their elite players, but they defend very hard and prevent you from getting to their net.”

After a crazy overtime in which both teams had amazing chances, McKinnon beat Samsonov on a good shield on Avalanche’s second shot.

Georgiev then denied Mitch Marner for Colorado, who improved to 4-4 in shootouts. Toronto fell to 0-2 in shootouts.

After a 4-3 home loss to Buffalo on Monday that saw Toronto lead 2-0 at the end of the second period, the Maple Leafs opened the scoring three minutes after the first when Riley scored his third goal after before hitting the post earlier.

The Avalanche reacted to the play on the powerplay later in the period when Rantanen’s pass landed on a Toronto defenseman. Jake McCabe for its 44th season.

Samsonov stopped Valery Nichushkin on a short break a second before Cale Makar I almost went into a joint in the snatch, but the puck leaked past.

Georgiev equaled his Russian counterpart on the other end, depriving Rilli on the powerplay and Kalle Jarnkrok from close range to keep the situation even 40 minutes later.

After the Maple Leafs scored two penalties early in the third, William Nylander And Auston Matthews had good chances for Georgiev.

RANTANEN ARISES

Ratanen’s 44 goals is the highest for a player of Finnish origin since Teemu Selanne scored 48 goals in the 2006/07 season.

EARLY START

Marner scored a goal early in the game for the 19th time this season, second only to McKinnon (20) of all players.

WAITING FOR GABE

Avalanche Captain Gabriel Landeskogwho has not yet played this season, continues to recover from knee surgery.

Colorado head coach Jared Bednar said there is no timeline for the winger’s return after Tuesday’s practice.

“Progress,” said Bednar. “I’m going to keep working to get back as soon as possible. I don’t know when it will be. I don’t know if it will be the regular season, the beginning of the off-season. Everything will depend on him.”

SHANN BACK

Luke Schenn returned to Scotiabank Arena with the Maple Leafs for the first time in over a decade.

Acquired from Vancouver before the trade deadline, the veteran quarterback returned to the club after his wife recently gave birth to their third child.

The Leafs selected Shann, who did not play against the Colorado, fifth overall in 2008 and then traded him to the Philadelphia in 2012.

“Going into this dressing room is surreal,” the 33-year-old said on Wednesday morning. “You understand what it means to play in Toronto, but not in the way that I do now.”

LOSS OF LEKONEN

Arturi Lehkonen will be out for at least four weeks with a broken finger sustained in Colorado’s 8-4 victory over Montreal on Monday, adding to the club’s season-long injury woes.

The winger was due to have surgery on Wednesday in Colorado.

“One of our ID guys,” Bednar said. “One of the hardest working guys on the ice in every game.”

NEXT

Avalanche: In Ottawa on Thursday in the third game of a four-game trip.

Maple Leafs: Host the Carolinas on Friday in a four-game home stand final.

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AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL And https://www.twitter.com/AP-Sports

BOSTON. In a season filled with extreme numbers, the Boston Bruins know exactly how much value they place on winning the most games in NHL history.

“Zero”, defender Charlie McAvoy said last week, the day before Boston became the fastest team in history to 50 wins. “The bottom of everything I care about.”

The Bruins went through the entire regular season and hit milestones along the way. But even though they may have the most wins ever — and the most points — players and management insist they are not interested in the biggest regular season records.

“We’re playing for the Stanley Cup,” Bruins president Cam Neely said flatly. “I tell everyone, ‘Enjoy the ride, but it’s all about the Stanley Cup.’

The Bruins were 100 points in a row and out of the playoffs three times in a row when they fired coach Bruce Cassidy last summer and hired Jim Montgomery to replace him. Key players such as McAvoy, Norris Trophy contender, and Brad Marchandthe team’s second scorer, were recovering from the operation, but the Bruins did not wait until they gained strength.

They won six of seven games before Marchand returned to the ice, climbing to the top of the Eastern Conference in the second week of the season; McAvoy’s return helped them climb to first place overall in the league, where they had remained since Veteran’s Day. They didn’t lose at home in regulation until January.

They were the fastest team in NHL history to reach 100 points and 50 wins and were the first team to make the playoffs this year. However, after winning the 50th game, which also proved to be decisive in the playoffs, the goalkeeper Linus Ulmark couldn’t be less enthusiastic.

“Congratulations then,” he said. “Maybe.”

Boston has a shot at the most wins in NHL history, surpassing the Red Wings’ 62 wins in 1995-96 and equaling the Lightning in 2018-19. He also has a chance to surpass the Montreal Canadiens’ record 132 points in 1976-77.

But for a team that has already won the President’s Trophy twice since 2004 and hasn’t won the Cup both times, a third-place finish in the league isn’t exactly appealing.

“For me, the regular season (record) is nice.” – Capt. Patrice Bergeron said. “But you work hard to get into the playoffs. And that’s the main focus.”

Montgomery said the team didn’t talk about records, instead focusing on getting in shape for the playoffs. If the Bruins only have records to play in the final days or weeks, he said, they will instead try to make sure everyone is rested and healthy for what they hope will be a two-month post-season exhaustion.

“Our preparation for the Stanley Cup playoffs is the most important thing in the regular season,” he said.

Defender Matt Grzelczyk admitted that a regular season record “would be a big achievement” but one that is “pretty low on the list”. It didn’t escape his notice that neither the 1996 Red Wings nor the ’19 Lightning won the Cup.

“We have seen in the past that these are sort of bit commands,” Grzelcik said. “We’ll just go out there and compete and let the chips drop where they can.”

A similar fate befell the 2001 Seattle Mariners, who won 116 games without even making the World Series; the ’16 Golden State Warriors, who broke an NBA record with 73 wins but lost in the Finals; and the 2007 New England Patriots, who won all 18 regular season and playoff games before losing in the Super Bowl.

“It was an incredible season, 18-19, but I think it was too easy for us to play great,” said the former Lightning winger. Ondrej Palatwhose team lost to Columbus in the first round of the playoffs.

“It was very frustrating after such a year,” Palat said. “But I’m not saying it’s like the Bruins. The Bruins are playing incredible hockey and they have a big chance in the playoffs.”

Of course, Tampa Bay won the Stanley Cup in each of the next two seasons.

Neely never made it to the trophy, losing in the Finals to the Edmonton Oilers in 1988 and again two years later; he really got his name on the Cup when he helped build the Bruins team that won it all in 2011. This was their last championship, this year’s drought the team hopes to end.

“It was a pleasure to watch this team, there is no doubt about it,” said the member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. “Records are great, it’s nice to have them – especially team records. But really it’s all about who wins the last game of the year.”

ROLEY, North Carolina – Forward, Carolina Hurricanes Andrey Svechnikov Eliminated for the remainder of the regular season and playoffs with a torn ligament in his right knee, a major blow to a Stanley Cup contender.

The team announced that Svechnikov will be undergoing ACL reconstruction surgery at Raleigh Orthopedic. He was injured in the loss against Vegas.

The Hurricanes had already said Svechnikov was out of action indefinitely with a knee injury, but were hoping for a more definitive diagnosis.

“It’s not easy to say that,” Caroline Coach Rod Brind’Amour told reporters.