DENVER — In a thrilling matchup, Valeri Nichushkin emerged as the hero for the Colorado Avalanche, scoring the only goal in a five-round shootout to secure a 2-1 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday night. Nichushkin also contributed a goal during regulation, highlighting his essential role in the game as the Avalanche celebrated their seventh win in the last nine outings.

Goalie Alexandar Georgiev showcased his skills, making 18 saves during regulation and adding five saves in the shootout, helping Colorado maintain their strong form. The game’s scoring started when Vegas’s Pavel Dorofeyev found the net, giving the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead at 13:09 of the second period. However, the lead was short-lived as Nichushkin answered back just 33 seconds later with an unassisted goal, leveling the score.

Adin Hill, the Golden Knights’ goaltender, had a solid performance, stopping 33 shots in regulation and three more during the shootout before falling to Nichushkin’s decisive shot that ended the contest. Remarkably, both teams played through a clean match with no penalties called until Cale Makar of Colorado was assessed an interference minor with 16:23 remaining in the third period.

**Highlights from the Game:**
For the Golden Knights, this game concluded a challenging five-game road trip, marking a winning record overall. After starting with a loss against Toronto, they rallied back with three consecutive wins before the tight loss to the Avalanche. On the other hand, Colorado continues to face injury challenges, as player Jonathan Drouin is listed as “week-to-week” with an upper-body issue, having previously missed 16 games due to a similar injury sustained at the start of the season. In a positive twist, Chase Bradley was called up and made his NHL debut during this game.

**Key Moment:**
One of the pivotal moments occurred when Hill saved a close-range shot from Nichushkin with only 7.5 seconds remaining, ensuring the game proceeded into overtime. This save proved crucial as it allowed the Golden Knights to push the game further, but ultimately, they couldn’t secure the win.

**Notable Stat:**
In terms of shots on goal, Vegas started strong with 10 shots in the first period but managed only nine for the rest of regulation and overtime, failing to record a single shot during the extra period.

Looking ahead, the Golden Knights will head back to their home rink to face the Winnipeg Jets on Friday night, while the Avalanche will travel to Dallas for the first game of a back-to-back series on the same evening.