DENVER — It wasn’t quite the way they had drawn it up, but the Avalanche accomplished what they set out to do on Friday against the Anaheim Ducks. They won their first game of the season, they dominated play, and most importantly, they did it while overcoming adversity — twice.
Colorado surrendered the first two goals, both in the first period, before fighting back to earn a 4-3 victory. They led 3-2 late in the third but gave up the game-tying goal with 12.9 seconds remaining. Then, Nathan MacKinnon was the hero in overtime — capping off what was a crazy game in many ways.
Anaheim’s goalie Lukas Dostal came into the game with a .933 save percentage and nearly escaped Ball Arena with another victory. He made 45 saves as The Ducks were outshot 49-19. Colorado dominated seemingly from the opening puck drop but needed almost 52 minutes to finally lead in this game…