Nichushkin scores only goal in shootout, Avs beat Golden Knights, 2-1

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Colorado Avalanche right wing Valeri Nichushkin, left, raises his stick after scoring the winning goal against Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill during a shootout in an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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Colorado Avalanche center Parker Kelly, left, congratulates right wing Valeri Nichushkin after he scored the winning goal during the shootout of an NHL hockey game against the Vegas Golden Knights Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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Vegas Golden Knights right wing Alexander Holtz, back, shoots the puck past Colorado Avalanche defenseman Samuel Girard in the second period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Nicolas Hague, right, checks on goaltender Adin Hill after he was injured in a collision with an Colorado Avalanche player in the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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Colorado Avalanche left wing Artturi Lehkonen waits for a face off in the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Vegas Golden Knights Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill, right, makes a save of a redirected shot off the stick of Colorado Avalanche left wing Artturi Lehkonen in the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon, front, argues with a referee as right wing Valeri Nichushkin looks on in the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Vegas Golden Knights Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar, front, pursues the puck with Vegas Golden Knights center Ivan Barbashev in the second period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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Colorado Avalanche center Casey Mittelstadt, back, looks to pass the puck as Vegas Golden Knights center William Karlsson defends in the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel, right, drives down the ice with the puck as Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar drops back to cover in the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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Vegas Golden Knights center Tomas Hertl, front, passes the puck as Colorado Avalanche defenseman Samuel Girard covers in the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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Colorado Avalanche right wing Nikolai Kovalenko, left, gets tangled up with Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo in the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

By MICHAEL KELLY

DENVER (AP) — Valeri Nichushkin scored the only goal in a five-round shootout and also scored Colorado’s only goal in regulation as the Avalanche beat the Vegas Golden Knights 2-1 on Wednesday night.

Alexandar Georgiev made 18 saves through overtime and five more in the shootout as Colorado won for the seventh time in nine games.

Pavel Dorofeyev gave Vegas a 1-0 lead at 13:09 of the second period but Nichushkin tied it 33 seconds later with an unassisted goal.

Adin Hill made 33 saves and three more in the shootout until Nichushkin beat him to end the game.

Neither team was whistled for a penalty until Cale Makar took an interference minor at 3:37 of the third period.

Takeaways

Golden Knights: Head home after a season-long five-game road trip with a winning record. Vegas lost the first game, 3-0, in Toronto but then won the next three before the lsso to Colorado.

Avalanche: Injuries continue to be a factor this season. Winger Jonathan Drouin is “week-to-week” with an upper-body injury. He missed 16 straight games with a similar injury suffered opening night. Chase Bradley was recalled and made his NHL debut.

Key moment

With the Avalanche about to go on the power play, Hill made a save on Nichushkin’s point-blank shot with 7.5 seconds left to get the game to overtime.

Key stat

Vegas had 10 shots on goal in the first period but just nine for the rest of regulation and overtime, and none in the extra period.

Up next

The Golden Knights return home to play Winnipeg on Friday night while the Avalanche travel to Dallas on Friday night for the first game of a back-to-back.

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AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL