Avalanche superstars Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar carry club past Rangers to keep red-hot start rolling

The Colorado Avalanche has climbed to the top of the NHL standings with help from a deep lineup strong goaltending and consistent effort without the puck Having two of the best players in the world and star power supporting them certainly helps too The stars displayed out Thursday night Nathan MacKinnon had two goals and an assist Cale Makar had two goals and an assist and Martin Necas chipped in with three helpers in a - win against the New York Rangers at Ball Arena The Avs are now a league-best - - and are just the fourth crew in league history to reach games played with only one regulation loss Scott Wedgewood made saves for his league-leading th win including two massive saves during the hectic part of the third period when the Avs eventually grabbed the lead for good MacKinnon s second goal of the night put the Avs in front - one shift after the Rangers had tied the number He backhanded the rebound of a Makar shot past Igor Shesterkin at of the third period It was his league-leading th goal and the three points give him to lead the NHL scoring race as well J T Miller had temporarily brought New York level with his second power-play goal of the night a tip of Adam Fox s point shot seconds before the MacKinnon goal Brock Nelson gave Colorado its first lead of the night early in the third period His wrist shot at came during a bad Rangers change and gave the Avs second power-play unit a rare goal It was Nelson s sixth of the season and his th career goal against the Rangers The Rangers scored one of the prettiest power-play goals of the NHL season to grab an early lead Four of the five skaters on the ice teamed up to ping the puck around the offensive zone in the shape of a baseball diamond Vincent Trocheck sent the puck from the left flank to Fox at the top of the zone He passed to Miika Zibanejad at the right flank and the Swede s one-touch shot-pass connected with Miller at the edge of the crease for an easy deflection into the net at of the opening period It was the eighth time this season the Avs have surrendered the first goal of the event They were - - when trailing first before Thursday night MacKinnon evened the amount in the final minute of the first He was near the right post to clean up the rebound of Necas shot with seconds left It was MacKinnon s th career point which put him into second place in franchise history one ahead of Peter Stastny Next up is Joe Sakic who has Related Articles Avalanche camp surprise Tristen Nielsen already checked off huge season goal now wants to get out of his head and play Avalanche Mailbag Who is the biggest threat in the Western Conference Renck Forget top defenseman Avs star Cale Makar belongs in Hart Trophy conversation Scott Wedgewood is enjoying his moment and the Avalanche can t stop winning during it Ross Colton Victor Olofsson points seconds apart as streaking Avalanche beats Islanders New York grabbed the lead early in the second period as well Braden Schneider s outlet pass helped the Rangers transition into a quick counterattack and caught the Avs out of position Adam Edstrom redirected Sam Carrick s pass from the right wing at the edge of the crease for his first goal of the season at in the middle period The rest of the second was all Avalanche Colorado finished the period with a - advantage in shots on goal Makar brought the Avs level again with remaining Jack Drury made a great defensive play to interrupt a Rangers rush chance MacKinnon picked up the puck and carried it to the other end before a drop pass to Necas He uncovered Makar cutting to the net on the right side and the reigning Norris Trophy winner beat Shesterkin with a wraparound goal Footnotes Avs rookie Gavin Brindley left the competition midway through the first period with a lower-body injury and did not return He took just four shifts in the battle The Avs are already without Valeri Nichushkin Logan O Connor and Joel Kiviranta up front which led to rookie Tristen Nielsen playing in his second NHL battle Ross Colton tacked on an empty-netter at the end of the encounter Want more Avalanche news Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis