MacKinnon leads 2nd-period surge for Avs in 4-2 win over Flames

Martin Necas scored doubly and had an assistance to pb the Colorado Avalanche to a 4-2 triumph implicit the Calgary Flames connected Thursday.

Cale Makar collected his 20th extremity this play and Artturi Lehkonen besides scored for Colorado (32-22-2).

The Avalanche were 2 points backmost of the Minnesota Wild for 3rd successful the Central division.

Nathan MacKinnon moved backmost successful the NHL points pb with 3 assists for 83 (20 goals, 63 assists) and was 2 up connected Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl. The 2 players spell head-to-head Friday night.

Jonathan Huberdeau scored his team-leading 21st extremity and defenceman Rasmus Andersson besides scored for Calgary (26-21-7).

The Flames went into the crippled tied with the Vancouver Canucks for the last wild-card spot successful the Western Conference.

Playing successful his hometown, Makar was the archetypal defenceman to scope 20 goals this season. He was besides the archetypal blue-liner since Brian Leetch (1993-94) nutrient 3 20-goal seasons earlier his 27th birthday.

He’s besides the eighth defenceman successful NHL past to grounds 3 oregon much 20-goal campaigns successful his archetypal six seasons, joining Paul Coffey (five), Denis Potvin (five), Ray Bourque (four), Bobby Orr (four), Steve Duchesne, Phil Housley and Reed Larson.

Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 27 shots for the win, improved to 13-6-2 since helium arrived from the San Jose Sharks successful a commercialized and was 19-15-5-5 this season.

Dustin Wolf stopped 30 shots successful his 4th nonaccomplishment successful his past 5 games. The NHL’s rookie of the period successful January dropped to 19-11-2.

Takeaways

Avalanche: MacKinnon’s 3 assists successful the 2nd play was his 18th vocation three-point period, which moved him past Joe Sakic and Anton Stastny into a necktie with Peter Forsberg for the second-most successful franchise past down Peter Stastny (31).

Flames: Huberdeau’s game-opening extremity astatine 3:22 of the archetypal play came connected a two-man advantage. That made it 3 consecutive games with a five-on-three extremity for Calgary, which was the archetypal squad to execute that since the Phoenix Coyotes connected Jan. 23-26, 2013 (3 GP). Calgary’s powerfulness play has been blistery of precocious going 6-for-17 implicit the past 4 games.

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Key moment

Down 1-0 aft 20 minutes, Colorado tied it 1:20 into the 2nd play connected Makar’s goal. That ignited Colorado’s large second-period push. The Avs took the pb for bully 4 minutes aboriginal connected Lehkonen’s 22nd goal. The Avs outscored Calgary 3-0 and outshot them 17-3 successful the mediate period.

Key stat

The extremity Colorado surrendered connected the two-man vantage was conscionable the 4th powerfulness play extremity they’ve fixed up successful the past 17 games. They’ve killed disconnected 38 of 42 penalties during that stretch.

Up next

Avalanche: Visit the Edmonton Oilers connected Friday.

Flames: At location to the Seattle Kraken connected Saturday.