ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Kyle Makar had a goal and two assists, Nathan MacKinnon added a third-quarter assist to secure his fourth straight 100-point season and the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche ended the Anaheim Ducks’ five-game winning streak with a 5-1 victory on Tuesday night.
Parker Kelly scored twice and Scott Wedgewood made 27 saves for the team, which has won three straight and four of five games since the Olympic break. Martin Necas scored his 27th goal and Gabriel Landeskog also scored to complete Colorado’s back-to-back sweeps of the Southern California club.
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Carter Gauthier scored his 29th goal and Lucas Dostal stopped 21 shots for the Ducks, whose eight-game winning streak at home since January 2 was ended.
Anaheim would have moved into first place in the Pacific Division with a point, but the loss kept Vegas up by one point. The Ducks are in the playoffs for the first time since 2018.
The Ducks’ two power plays in the opening minutes came up empty, and Makar put his team ahead with his 18th goal.
Nekas scored his seventh power-play goal of the season 2 1/2 minutes later, beating his Czech Olympic teammate with a high shot. The goal was just the second in the past 12 games for the Avalanche, who, despite their overall performance, inexplicably had one of the worst personnel advantages in the NHL.
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Gauthier scored early in the second period after a great cross-ice pass from Jackson LaCombe, but Kelly added his 14th goal later in the period.
Landeskog then scored for the second straight game, adding his 59th assist to his NHL-leading 41 goals on a shot from MacKinnon early in the third period.
Next
Avalanche: At Dallas on Friday night.
Ducks: Host the New York Islanders on Wednesday night.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL
