Avalanche cap 4-0 road trip with easy win over Red Wings

EditorsNote: Par 5: added “Defenseman”; Par 8: added hyphens to “shots-on-goal”. (previous) Adding team records

Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and two assists and the visiting Colorado Avalanche extended their winning streak to five games by defeating the Detroit Red Wings 5-1 on Saturday afternoon.

Lars Eller scored a short-handed goal and Mikko Rantanen tallied his 46th goal this season as the Avalanche finished off a 4-0 road trip -- scoring five or more goals in three of their wins. Devon Toews and Bowen Byram also scored, while Cale Makar added three assists.

MacKinnon and Makar extended their personal point streaks to eight games. Alexandar Georgiev made 33 saves in the win.

Pius Suter scored for Detroit, which has lost nine of its last 11 games (2-8-1). Ville Husso made 16 saves before he was pulled in the third period for Magnus Hellberg, who stopped both shots he faced.

Defenseman Simon Edvinsson, the sixth overall pick in the 2021 draft, made his NHL debut for the Red Wings. He was called up from the American Hockey League's Grand Rapids Griffins under emergency conditions on Friday.

The game was tied at 1-1 after the first period.

Colorado (40-22-6, 86 points) took the lead five minutes into the contest on Toews' fifth goal. He ripped a shot from the point past a screened Husso. J.T. Compher and Makar had the assists.

Detroit (30-29-9, 69 points), which had a 16-6 shots-on-goal advantage in the period, tied it on Suter's 12th goal. He took a pass from Dylan Larkin, skated into the right circle and beat Georgiev on the stick side.

The Avalanche killed off two penalties later in the period.

Colorado grabbed a 3-1 lead in the second period.

MacKinnon's 30th goal put the Avalanche in front. He split defenders and fired a shot from the right circle beyond Husso's reach. Denis Malgin and Makar picked up the helpers. It marked MacKinnon's fifth career season with 30 or more goals.

Late in the period, the Avalanche took advantage of a 4-on-3 power play. Byram scored his seventh goal from the right side with Makar and MacKinnon collecting the assists.

Eller scored his second goal since being traded from Washington to Colorado at 4:20 of the third. He banged in a rebound of a Valeri Nichushkin shot for his ninth goal of the season.

Rantanen scored in front less than a minute later off feeds from Evan Rodrigues and MacKinnon.

--Field Levelk Media

1/3: Mar 18, 2023; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Red Wings defenseman Jake Walman (96) handles the puck during the first period at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bradshaw Sevald-USA TODAY Sports

2/3: Mar 18, 2023; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Red Wings defenseman Olli Maatta (2) handles the puck during the first period at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bradshaw Sevald-USA TODAY Sports

3/3: Mar 18, 2023; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Colorado Avalanche left wing Matt Nieto (83) looks on during the first period at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bradshaw Sevald-USA TODAY Sports