Cale Makar recorded a goal and two assists to help the Colorado Avalanche defeat the Anaheim Ducks 5-1 at Honda Center on Tuesday. The Avalanche improved their record to 41-10-9, securing their third consecutive win and fifth in their last six games. This follows a recent 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings.
Parker Kelly contributed two goals for Colorado, while Martin Necas also found the net. Brock Nelson and Jack Drury each provided two assists. Goaltender Scott Wedgewood made 27 saves in the win.
For Anaheim, Cutter Gauthier scored his team-leading 29th goal of the season, assisted by Jackson LaCombe. Lukas Dostal stopped 21 shots for the Ducks, who saw their five-game winning streak end. Prior to this loss, Anaheim had won 12 of its previous 14 games and was riding an eight-game home winning streak at Honda Center.
Makar opened scoring at 11:33 of the first period after retrieving a loose puck behind the net and skating through the left circle before finishing with a wrist shot from the hash marks.
Necas extended Colorado’s lead to 2-0 at 14:05 with a power-play one-timer from atop the left circle, marking his fifth goal in as many games.
Gauthier narrowed it to 2-1 early in the second period with a one-timer from the right circle off LaCombe’s feed. It was Gauthier’s third goal in two games.
Kelly restored Colorado’s two-goal advantage late in the second period with a wrist shot from above the left circle.
Gabriel Landeskog added another for Colorado early in the third period with a one-timer assisted by Nathan MacKinnon. Kelly closed out scoring midway through the final frame after capitalizing on Dostal being out of position for his second goal of the night.
