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MacKinnon Nets Overtime Winner as Avalanche Top Rangers in Controversial Finish

Nathan MacKinnon scored just 2:46 into overtime, lifting the Colorado Avalanche to a 3–2 win over the New York Rangers in a Saturday afternoon showdown at Madison Square Garden. 

But the victory didn’t come without controversy. 

New York forced overtime with 42 seconds remaining when Artemi Panarin hammered a one-timer from Mika Zibanejad over the shoulder of Mackenzie Blackwood. Colorado head coach Jared Bednar immediately challenged the play for a missed stoppage, arguing Panarin had made contact with the puck using a high stick earlier in the sequence. 

By rule, high-sticking is defined as making contact with the puck above shoulder height during regular play, or above the height of the crossbar when a goal is scored. The replay appeared to show Panarin’s stick rising well above the shoulders of Joel Kiviranta—listed at 5-foot-11—before the puck struck the ice. Despite what seemed like clear visual evidence, officials upheld the goal, leaving the Avalanche bench momentarily frozen in disbelief as Madison Square Garden thundered in approval.

Despite the added hurdle, the Avs still found a way. MacKinnon capped off the afternoon with two goals, pushing his season total to 24. Parker Kelly added his sixth of the year, and Martin Nečas put together a three-assist performance. Blackwood was sharp as well, turning aside 24 shots. 

For the Rangers, Panarin wasn’t the only one to strike—Sheary also found the back of the net—and Igor Shesterkin was brilliant in defeat, finishing with 39 saves. 

First Period 

At 7:26 of the first period, Cale Makar was sent to the box after delivering a reverse hit on J.T. Miller despite his man not having possession of the puck, resulting in an interference call. The Rangers generated several dangerous looks on the ensuing power play, but Colorado escaped unscathed as both Panarin and Will Cuylle rang shots off the post. 

For much of the opening frame, the Avalanche found themselves pinned in their own end. New York’s relentless, punishing forecheck caused repeated problems, and Colorado struggled to cleanly break through the pressure. 

 Late in the frame, Nečas went on a breakaway, but was denied by Shesterkin.  

Second Period 

Kelly broke the tie 7:06 into the second period, redirecting a Sam Malinski shot from his knees to give Colorado a 1–0 lead. The entire sequence was sparked by Nečas, who curled behind the net with possession and whipped a sharp backhand pass up the boards to Malinski, setting the play in motion.

Third Period/Overtime 

Sheary pulled the Rangers even 4:23 into the third period, taking a saucer pass from Vincent Trocheck, deking past Nečas, and fought off Makar before snapping a perfectly placed shot past Blackwood. 

Moments later, after Matthew Robertson was called for tripping Valeri Nichushkin, Colorado went to the power play. But the opportunity came with a scare: Trocheck’s attempted clear struck Makar directly in the helmet, sending the defenseman immediately to the bench in visible discomfort. He eventually returned to the ice.  

With 4:34 remaining, MacKinnon delivered again. He pounced on a rebound off a Nečas shot, batting the puck out of midair for his 23rd of the season to restore Colorado’s lead at 2–1. 

Brock Nelson briefly appeared to tie the game just 26 seconds later. The on-ice ruling was a good goal, but video review showed the puck never actually crossed the goal line, wiping the tally off the board and preserving Colorado’s one-goal edge. 

The Rangers pulled Shesterkin for the extra attacker with 1:50 to play, setting the stage for a frantic, somewhat controversial finish. Following Panarin’s goal and the failed challenge, the game went to overtime, where MacKinnon delivered as the hero. 

Next Game 

The Avalanche (20-2-6) finished off a back-to-back on Sunday as they square off against Trevor Zegras and the Philadelphia Flyers (15-8-3) at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Coverage begins at 11 a.m. local time.  

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Red Wings Should Pursue Sherwood To Solve Lack Of Depth Scoring

The Detroit Red Wings have been an above-average team thus far this season, posting a 14-11-3 record to keep them in the thick of the hunt for a Stanley Cup playoff spot in the Atlantic Division.

One of the key reasons why is that their top-three forwards are doing much of the heavy lifting on offense.

For reference, Red Wings star center and captain Dylan Larkin has 15 goals and 31 points this year. Right winger Lucas Raymond has 21 assists and 31 points, and right winger Alex DeBrincat has 14 goals and 29 points.

All three forwards are putting together points at above a point-per-game pace, which has to make Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman happy. But after that, there are only three other Wings forwards with more than 10 points – right winger Patrick Kane (18 points), left winger Emmitt Finnie (13 points) and center Andrew Copp (11 points).

In the past, the Red Wings' biggest issues in recent years have been in net. But the dropoff after their top point-producers this season has to be concerning. 

That brings us to the $16.5-million in salary cap space that Wings GM has to play with right now – a total that would rise to a whopping $52.7-million by the NHL’s March 6 trade deadline.

If the Vancouver Canucks decide to trade veteran forward Kiefer Sherwood – who currently has 12 goals and 16 points in 28 games – you’d have to think Detroit could be a great landing spot for him.

NHL Rumor Roundup: Canucks' Kiefer Sherwood Draws Interest, Plus Islanders BuzzNHL Rumor Roundup: Canucks' Kiefer Sherwood Draws Interest, Plus Islanders BuzzVancouver Canucks winger Kiefer Sherwood has become one of the most notable players in the trade market, plus the New York Islanders could be considering their options in this season's trade market.

Sherwood is slated to be a UFA at the end of this season, and the Red Wings have plenty of space to keep him in a Detroit uniform for the foreseeable future. Not to mention, the 30-year-old only costs $1.5 million against the salary cap.

That said, you have to feel for Wings fans who see their team on the precipice of ending their nine-year Stanley Cup playoff drought without seeing Yzerman making notable additions to the roster this season.

It would also help Detroit’s cause if Yzerman made an addition on the back end, but the priority at the moment has to be bringing in scoring help. 

Kiefer Sherwood (Bob Frid-Imagn Images)

The Red Wings have all three of their first-round draft picks for the next three seasons, as well as two second-rounders. So it would behoove Detroit to spend one of those draft assets to acquire a difference-maker. But Yzerman will have to move fast if he wants Sherwood, who has appeal to many teams.

Regardless, the Wings should not stand pat. The Atlantic has five teams within four points of each other at the top of the division, and that competitiveness could remain throughout the season.

But the parity around the league is such that there isn’t a slew of trade options available at this moment, and if Detroit fails to pick up someone like Sherwood, they may have an even tougher time lining up a trade as the season continues to unfold.

There’s no time like the present for the Red Wings to acquire a veteran contributor. The longer they wait, the harder it could be to pick up a needle-mover to help push them into the post-season.

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USC guard Amarion Dickerson sidelined for 3 to 4 months with hip injury

Southern California guard Amarion Dickerson will be out three to four months after injuring his right hip in the 24th-ranked Trojans' win over Oregon this week, coach Eric Musselman said Saturday. The combo guard-forward was averaging 4.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and nearly 22 minutes in eight games for the Trojans (8-0, 1-0 Big Ten). The senior from Cleveland, Ohio, started 31 of 35 games last season at Robert Morris, where he was the Horizon League defensive player of the year.

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Bulls' rookie Noa Essengue is out for remainder of season following shoulder surgery.

Bulls rookie Noa Essengue will undergo season-ending surgery on his left shoulder.

On Saturday, the Bulls made official what coach Billy Donovan had said a few days earlier: surgery was required, and the usual recovery time is six to seven months. Essengue injured his shoulder in a G-League game and, while the team first said it was a contusion, it turned out to be more than that.

Essengue was the No. 12 pick in last June's draft and at Summer League showed his fluid athleticism and potential, but also was raw (as expected). He was mainly remembered for being on the wrong end of a meme during his first trip to Las Vegas. The Bulls wanted to deal with this injury now so that Essengue will have next summer to work on his game (whether he will play in Summer League remains to be seen).

This season, Essengue played just six total minutes for the Bulls. In four G-League games, Essengue averaged 23 points a game on 50.8% from the floor, plus grabbing 8.5 rebounds a game.