This season has already been filled with absurd Avalanche games, but none have been more absurd than Friday’s affair with the Anaheim Ducks.

Sure, those other games might have had more goals and perhaps been more entertaining, but this one was ridiculous.

Colorado came out buzzing. Nikolai Kovalenko had a mini-breakaway early in the game that Lukas Dostal snagged with his glove, and the team generated plenty of high-end chances in period one. Somehow, they ended that period down by not one, but two goals.

On Anaheim’s first real chance of the game, it got some good looks at the net with Georgiev scrambling. The puck bounced around and into the crease, with Josh Manson desperately trying to jam the puck under Georgiev’s pads. The referee, in a great position behind the net, watched it all with a close eye and never blew the whistle, probably because it was still free. Instead of clearing it or going to the ice, Manson kept jamming, and eventually Leo Carlsson just poked it in to give Anaheim the lead.

The second goal? Colorado had reason to be upset.

A dump-in from center ice by the Ducks clearly hit the netting, which should have been an automatic whistle. Everyone on the ice stopped playing, the arena DJ even started playing music. And the one ref in the zone looked like he was going to blow the whistle.

He never did.

Sam Girard, rather than eating the puck, just dumped it out to the neutral zone, giving it to the Ducks. They carried it in, got a shot on goal, and the rebound bounced into the slot for an easy tap-in by Ryan Strome.

Despite outshooting the Ducks 18-8 and playing probably their best period of the season, the Avalanche found themselves down by two.

They got one back early in the second, as Casey Mittelstadt got about as clear a breakaway as you’ll see at the NHL level, beating Dostal with his backhand. The rest of the period was spent in Anaheim’s end, but somehow, Colorado couldn’t find that equalizer. It wasn’t for lack of trying, as the shots were 18-3.

With the shots 35-11 and Colorado controlling most of the play, could they stick with it and find a way to come back?

Yes, although with how the game was already going, did anyone think it was going to be easy?

On an early powerplay in the third, Ross Colton tied it on a beautiful one-timer. Ten minutes later, Colton gave the Avalanche a much-needed lead with another one-time blast. That’s all she wrote, right? Given the way the game had been going, this is where the Avalanche typically run away with things.

This win wasn’t going to come that easy.

Colorado took two late penalties and spent essentially the last five minutes of the game in their own end. Georgiev made some big saves, and the players in front of him made some big blocks, but with 16 seconds left, the Ducks were able to tie the game up with some exhausted players on the ice. This game needed overtime.

And it sure seemed like the universe didn’t want the Avalanche to walk away with their first win. Mikko Rantanen was robbed on a wraparound, while Sam Girard hit a crossbar on a breakaway. They needed a hero.

Who else but the MVP?

With under a minute left in overtime, Nathan MacKinnon cut to the middle and his shot snuck through Dostal. It took 49 shots and 99 shot attempts, but Colorado walked away with their first victory of the season.

A victory they earned.

“It’s the guys getting rewarded, finally, for playing the right way,” Jared Bednar said after the game.

Avalanche 4, Ducks 3

What happened: Colorado’s relentlessness eventually paid off, with Nathan MacKinnon winning the game in overtime.

What went right: A lot of things went right, but Cale Makar, who criticized himself earlier in the week after a tough game, was the best player on the ice from the drop of the puck. He looked dynamic all night long and gave the Avalanche a performance they needed while undermanned.

“He was fantastic,” Jared Bednar said after the game.

What went wrong: That second Ducks goal will be talked about for a while. The puck clearly hit the netting, and the refs even looked like they were going to blow their whistle, but never did. The fans in the building made sure to give it to the refs the rest of the night. Any time the puck hit the netting and the whistle was blown, fans made sure to give them a sarcastic cheer.

Between the pipes: Georgiev didn’t have to do a ton but made 17 stops on 20 shots for his first win of the season. Lukas Dostal made 46 saves at the other end.

What’s next: The Avalanche head out onto the road for a few games, stopping first in San Jose to take on the Sharks this Sunday at 6 PM.