Canucks down Avalanche in first game since being eliminated from playoffs

DENVER — Kiefer Sherwood and Dakota Joshua had a goal and an assist, Kevin Lankinen stopped 31 shots and the Vancouver Canucks beat Colorado 4-1 on Thursday night as the Avalanche gave leading scorer Nathan MacKinnon the game off to rest and heal for the postseason.

Jake DeBrusk also scored for the Canucks, who’ve been eliminated from postseason contention. Nils Hoglander added an empty-net goal with 1:58 remaining.

Devon Toews had a goal and Mackenzie Blackwood made 26 saves for the Avalanche in their final home game of the regular season. Colorado will enter the postseason as the Central Division’s No. 3 seed and open a first-round series on the road.

By sitting out, MacKinnon's streak of 209 straight games was halted. He might not play in the final two regular-season games, either. MacKinnon is tied with Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov for the league lead with 116 points.

Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog began a minor league conditioning assignment with the Colorado Eagles and could suit up with the Eagles this weekend.

Landeskog could be activated for Game 1 of Colorado’s playoff series if the conditioning assignment and additional practices go well. A knee injury and subsequent surgeries have sidelined Landeskog since he helped the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup in 2022.

Takeaways

Canucks: Finished 3-0 against Colorado to sweep the season series for the first time since 2016-17.

Colorado: The short-handed Avalanche were without defensemen Ryan Lindgren (upper body) and Josh Manson (upper body), along with forwards Jonathan Drouin (upper body) and Ross Colton (lower body).

Key moment

Joshua knocked in a loose puck with 13:46 remaining to make it a 3-1 game.

Key stat

Colorado’s defensemen have a combined 206 points this season.

Up next

Colorado wraps up the regular season with a back-to-back starting Saturday in Los Angeles. Vancouver hosts Minnesota on Saturday.