The NHL’s last-place team took one of its best to overtime Saturday. There Gabriel Landeskog sealed the 3-2 win for the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena.

Valeri Nichushkin retrieved a Landeskog rebound and waited for the captain to reset, sending a pass over for him to tap in. Nichushkin made his return against the Montreal Canadiens after missing three games while in COVID-19 protocol.

“Val’s been a beast in overtimes, been excellent,” coach Jared Bednar said. “I like having some responsible checkers out there in overtime.”

Colorado defenseman Samuel Girard set up the first two goals, both of which came on the power play. He sent a onetime pass from the boards to Alex Newhook behind the faceoff dot for a goal that was nearly a carbon copy of their collaboration Monday against the Minnesota Wild.

With 11 seconds left on a man advantage in the second period, Girard protected the puck behind the goal and fed Nichushkin for a 2-0 lead.

Nichushkin has been with the team since August 2019 and has become one of the team’s most dogged forecheckers. Landeskog called Nichushkin’s addition a “pleasant surprise” at the time.

“As of late, we’ve obviously seen how big he is for us when he is in the lineup,” Landeskog said.

Artturi Lehkonen got Montreal back within one on a 2-on-1 with 1:43 left in the second period.

“It’s the defending side of it that’s sort of been bothering me a little bit, what we’re giving up,” Bednar said. “And the more we’re giving up, the less we’re creating, too, so it’s sort of a cart-and-horse type deal.”

Nazem Kadri’s apparent goal to make it 3-1 Colorado was called back when he was determined to be offside. Devon Toews assisted on all three goals and Darcy Kuemper made 28 saves.

Canadiens points leader Nick Suzuki tied the game midway through the third period. Suzuki’s 24 points would put him eighth on Colorado’s team list, just ahead of Girard. Montreal now sits 8-257 and hasn’t won consecutive games.

The Avalanche put 46 shots on Montreal goaltender Cayden Primeau but went past regulation for the sixth time in January.

“Right now we’re going through a little bit of a funk. We’re still getting the results,” Bednar said. “It’s my job just to make sure that they understand that, that we just can’t keep doing this. We run into a real good team, they’ll make us pay, more than Montreal did tonight.”

The Avalanche have won 15 straight at home, the longest such streak in the NHL since 2017. They haven’t lost at home since the first week of November, and not in regulation at Ball Arena since Oct. 26.