Denver Post · Dec 24, 2017
Avalanche defeat Coyotes in brawl-filled game
Colorado Avalanche right wing Nail Yakupov celebrates his goal against the Arizona Coyotes during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Dec. 23, 2017, in Glendale, Ariz. GLENDALE, Ariz. — A heavy center-ice hit on Nathan MacKinnon and an ensuing brouhaha led to the Avalanche losing its best player for the rest of the game Saturday, but Colorado immediately responded with three special-team goals to break open a scoreless game at Gila River Arena.
Minus MacKinnon — who was given a game-misconduct after fighting Josh Archibald to complete an intense sequence at 8:53 of the second period — the Avs defeated the Arizona Coyotes 6-2 to improve to 5-2-1 since beginning the month 0-4.