Makar scores in OT, Avalanche recover to defeat Stars in Rantanen’s return 

DENVER -- Cale Makar scored 34 seconds into overtime, and the Colorado Avalanche recovered after blowing a two-goal lead in the third period to win 4-3 against the Dallas Stars at Ball Arena on Sunday.

“You knew that they were going to give everything they had in the third,” Makar said. “But I felt like we closed the period really nice with the last two minutes there and found a way in overtime.”

Makar weaved through the offensive zone and beat Jake Oettinger with a quick wrist shot from the right circle to the far post.

“I thought we played a great hockey game until we coughed up those couple pucks in the D-zone. And I guess when you look at all three goals they got, they were D-zone turnovers,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “But great effort. We were skating playing on both sides of the puck. So, solid hockey game. Glad to get the two points.”

Jonathan Drouin and Valeri Nichushkin each had a goal and an assist, and Martin Necas also scored for the Avalanche (41-24-3), who have won eight of their past nine games (8-0-1). Makar also had two assists, and Scott Wedgewood made 19 saves.

“‘Wedgie’ has been incredible lately. He's kept us in games,” Makar said. “We're very fortunate to have two really good goalies and lean on them when we need to, but 'Wedgie's' held us in the last couple games he's played, that's for sure.”

Jason Robertson, Mavrik Bourque, and Matt Duchene scored for the Stars (42-21-3), who have lost three of their past four games (1-2-1). Mikko Rantanen had an assist in his first game against the Avalanche since being traded to the Carolina Hurricanes on Jan. 24 and then to the Stars on March 7; he played his first 10 NHL seasons in Colorado. Oettinger made 32 saves.

“I loved our battle and our grit and our effort to fight to the end,” Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said. “We did a lot of really good things tonight 5-on-5. It maybe doesn't feel that way on the shot clock, or how it feels watching it, because you put an elite team on the power play for a fifth of the game, a sixth of the game. So, I think if that's a little a little more even, we'd probably feel a little bit better about it.”

Robertson gave Colorado a 1-0 lead at 4:10 of the first period when his wrist shot went past the glove of a reaching Wedgewood. Rantanen chased down a turnover behind the goal line and fed Roope Hintz all alone in front, who one-touched the puck over to Robertson in the right circle for the shot.

“I think to get the first goal is big against Colorado. I know that, for sure,” Rantanen said. “I think they played better than us, for sure, especially the second period. They were all over us.”

Necas tied it 1-1 with a power-play goal at 14:09, redirecting Cale Makar’s point shot past Oettinger at the right post.

Nichushkin scored to make it 2-1 at 6:24 of the second period with a wrist shot from above the right face-off dot that found its way through Brock Nelson’s screen in front of the net.

“I thought we played really well for basically a large chunk of the game,” Makar said. “We were keeping them hemmed in and then trying to shut down their rush. They're a really good rush team, very fast.”

Drouin extended the lead to 3-1 at 17:19 with a one-timer from the right circle that went in off the skate of Stars defenseman Liam Bischel.

"Honestly, we were really good for 58 minutes. A little lapse there and it ended up costing us getting all the points and them not getting any,” Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson said. “I loved our game. I thought we tilted the ice, played fast, put those guys on their heels. They're a really good team and I think they only had 15 shots almost [until] the last five minutes of the third. So, great effort by everybody.”

Bourque cut it to 3-2 at 14:12 of the third when he located the puck during a goalmouth scramble and put it in at the top of the crease, and Duchene lifted a rebound past Wedgewood from in front to tie it 3-3 just 20 seconds later.

“We felt we were close. We were doing a lot of good things,” Duchene said. “I think we were coming, and the shift of ‘Bourqie’ and [Wyatt Johnston] and Jamie [Benn] there, I think, set the tone, and we're able to get the next one right away. It's too bad to lose in OT after all that.”

NOTES: Makar scored the fourth-fastest goal to start an overtime period by a defenseman in Avalanche/Nordiques franchise history… Makar recorded his 38th career three-point game and passed Roman Josi (37) for the third most among active defensemen (Erik Karlsson (52) and Victor Hedman (46)). … MacKinnon assisted on the overtime winner and extended his home point streak to 21 games (14 goals, 23 assists). He became the sixth player in NHL history to record multiple home point streaks of more than 20 games (Wayne Gretzky (seven), Guy Lafleur (two), Mario Lemieux (two), Connor McDavid (two) and Bobby Orr (two)). … Rantanen recorded his 400th career NHL assist. He became the 11th Finnish-born player in NHL history to reach the milestone and required the third-fewest games (636) to reach the mark (Jari Kurri (523 games) and Teemu Selanne (603 games)). … Hintz returned after missing the past two games after taking a puck to the face in a 5-4 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on March 8. He finished plus-1 with one assist in 17:34 of ice time.