DENVER — One goaltender decided the outcome at Ball Arena on Wednesday night, and he wasn’t wearing an Avalanche sweater.
The Colorado Avalanche dictated long stretches of play, limited chances at the other end, and still walked away with just a single point as Lukáš Dostál stood on his head and the Anaheim Ducks escaped with a 2–1 shootout victory, extending their winning streak to five games.
The Avalanche trailed until 3:39 remained in regulation, when Artturi Lehkonen one-timed a Brock Nelson feed past Dostál to force overtime. Five scoreless minutes followed, and in the shootout, Anaheim was incredible. Mikael Granlund and Cutter Gauthier both beat Scott Wedgewood to seal the win. Wedgewood finished the night with 16 saves.
“I thought we were pretty all over it,” Nelson said. “Didn’t really give them a whole lot. They maybe had one or two little flurries, but I thought we had a fair share of good looks. Just couldn’t get one earlier to kind of crack it and get momentum.”
Jeffrey Viel scored Anaheim’s lone regulation goal, while Radko Gudas and Gauthier each recorded an assist. The Avalanche didn't look like itself, but the defining factor in Colorado's muted night was the play of Dostál, who authored one of the best performances of his career with a brilliant 40-save effort.
Anaheim acquired the 28-year-old Viel from the Boston Bruins on Friday in exchange for a fourth-round pick. Known primarily as an energy player willing to drop the gloves, Viel had recorded just three goals in 64 NHL games prior to the trade. However, he has already found the back of the net twice in his first three games with the Ducks.
TIE GAME! 🤩
— NHL (@NHL) January 22, 2026
Artturi Lehkonen has tied it up for the @Avalanche! pic.twitter.com/P1Lc9Iumpn
First Period
Colorado earned an early opportunity to set the tone when Ducks forward Ross Johnston was whistled for tripping Brock Nelson just 2:45 into the opening period. The Avalanche generated quality looks on the ensuing power play. Cale Makar split Anaheim’s defense to test Dostál, Victor Olofsson fanned on a prime chance, and Nathan MacKinnon attempted to create offense from a sharp angle, only to miss the net.
Momentum stalled when Jack Drury was assessed a holding minor against Anaheim forward Jansen Harkins at the 7:10 mark. The call appeared marginal and left Drury visibly frustrated, though the officials remained unmoved. Colorado’s penalty kill responded effectively, shutting down Anaheim’s first power-play opportunity of the night.
Second Period
Anaheim broke the deadlock midway through the second following a costly Colorado offensive-zone turnover by Sam Malinski. Gauthier jump-started the counterattack, carrying the puck deep before sliding a pass to Jeffrey Viel at the left circle. Viel waited patiently as Gauthier drifted through the slot to provide a moving screen, then snapped a wrist shot past Wedgewood to give the Ducks a 1–0 lead.
An odd sequence followed moments later when Bennett Sennecke collided with Wedgewood and dislodged the net from its moorings. Under normal circumstances, play is immediately blown dead. Instead, officials inexplicably allowed play to continue — a decision emblematic of an increasingly concerning trend in league-wide officiating this season.
Late in the period, Ross Colton nearly tied the game after firing a shot from the slot off a perfectly timed feed from Gavin Brindley, but Dostál came up with a stellar save. Anaheim was penalized on the play, as Drew Helleson was sent off for holding, giving Colorado its second power play of the evening. For Colton, it was another near miss in a recent stretch defined by quality chances and better goaltending at the other end.
Third Period
Colorado continued to push in the final frame. Lehkonen attempted to connect with Nelson on a rush opportunity at the right doorstep, but Dostál shut the door once again. A follow-up bid on the rebound was denied by the Ducks goaltender’s stick — emblematic of a night in which every Avalanche surge was met with just enough resistance to keep the puck out.
Finally, in the closing stages of the game, Lehkonen and Nelson connected. And contrary to recent team history, there was no challenge for goaltender interference or offsides as the tying goal stood.
Takeaways
Here’s a smooth, normal edit that tightens things up and avoids repetition while keeping the same message:
"I think at the end of the day, their goalie had a big night, and we had a tough time with some of our execution early in the game."
— DNVR Avalanche (@DNVR_Avalanche) January 22, 2026
Coach Jared Bednar | Full presser ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/0ftHOohmc2
Jared Bednar was insightful in Wednesday’s postgame press conference. From a defensive standpoint, Colorado played a strong game, though Dostál—who has been hot and cold at times this season—was simply playing out of his depth. Bednar wasn’t pleased with the team’s puck movement in the opening period, but that improved as the game went on. Even so, for much of the night, the Avalanche couldn’t find a way to get a puck past him. Dostál made highlight-reel saves throughout the evening. Sometimes, that’s just hockey.
Colorado finished the night 0/2 on the power play and remained without the services of captain Gabe Landeskog, Devon Toews, and Joel Kiviranta, who remain injured. The Avs recalled Jack Ahcan and Taylor Makar for this game.
On the other side of the ice, Anaheim was missing two of its top young talents. Leading scorer Leo Carlsson has been sidelined since Jan. 10 with a thigh injury that could prevent the 21-year-old Swedish star from competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics. Carlsson underwent a procedure to repair the injury last week. Meanwhile, Mason McTavish was a late scratch just before puck drop due to an upper-body injury.
