Nichushkin knocked in a power-play goal 2:32 into overtime in his return to the lineup after a two-month absence, Alexandar Georgiev stopped a penalty shot late in regulation and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Minnesota Wild 2-1 on Friday night.
Tyson Foerster and Bobby Brink each scored and the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-2 after a power outage led to a nine-minute delay on Tuesday night. Both Foerster and Brink had recently returned to the lineup. The Flyers also got goals from three defensemen, Travis Sanheim, Sean Walker, and an empty-netter from Cam York in the third period.
Rick Tocchet and Rick Bowness were together at NHL All-Star Weekend when news broke that the Winnipeg Jets traded for Sean Monahan. Bowness' team made a big addition less than 48 hours after Tocchet's Vancouver Canucks acquired Elias Lindholm, considered the top center on the market. “It’s a great trade for them,” Tocchet said.
Even during the All-Star break, Nathan MacKinnon kept thinking ahead to the second half of the NHL season. “You try not to eat too much,” MacKinnon said. Maybe MacKinnon — and plenty of other players around the league — put on a couple of pounds during All-Star festivities, but the Colorado center doesn't have much to worry about on that front.