By Canadian Press

NHL roundup: Makar scores in OT as Avalanche beat Stars 4-3

Mar 16, 2025 | 10:03 PM

DENVER (AP) — Cale Makar scored 34 seconds into overtime and Colorado recovered after squandering a late two-goal lead to beat the Dallas Stars 4-3 on Sunday in the return of former Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen.

Leading 3-1 in the third, the Avalanche saw the Stars rally to tie the game on goals from Mavrik Bourque and Matt Duchene in a 20-second span.

In overtime, Makar weaved through the Dallas defence and beat Jake Oettinger with a wrist shot. It was a three-point performance for Makar as the Avalanche won their ninth straight home game.

Valeri Nichushkin, Jonathan Drouin and Martin Necas also scored for the Avalanche. Scott Wedgewood made 19 saves.

A fan favourite, Rantanen spent nearly a decade with Colorado. He was traded by the Avalanche as part of a three-team deal on Jan. 24 that landed him in Carolina — and brought Necas to Colorado — and then dealt to Dallas on March 7.

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Jason Robertson scored the game-opening goal on an assist from Rantanen. Oettinger stopped 32 shots.

Elsewhere in the NHL on Sunday:

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RED WINGS 3 GOLDEN KNIGHTS 0

DETROIT (AP) — Petr Mrazek made 18 saves for his first shutout of the season as Detroit blanked Vegas 3-0.

Mrazek was making his third start since he was acquired from Chicago at the NHL trade deadline.

Rookie defenceman Albert Johansson scored his second career goal at 7:58 of the second period to give Detroit the lead.

Lucas Raymond and Marco Kasper had third-period goals for the Red Wings, who had lost seven of their past eight games.

Ilya Samsonov made 24 saves for the Golden Knights, who have lost four of their past five games.

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OILERS 3 RANGERS 1

Viktor Arvidsson scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period and the Edmonton Oilers beat the New York Rangers 3-1 on Sunday.

Corey Perry and Connor McDavid also scored for Edmonton, which won its second straight game to complete a four-game trip. The Oilers were coming off a 2-1 overtime win over the Islanders on Friday. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had three assists and Stuart Skinner finished with 21 saves.

Will Cuylle scored for the Rangers, and Igor Shesterkin had 20 saves. New York had its two-game win streak halted.

Arvidsson beat Shesterkin with high shot at 6:09 of the third for his ninth goal of the season to put Edmonton up 2-1.

McDavid made it a two-goal lead with his 25th with 3:25 remaining.

Perry scored a power-play goal off a goalmouth scramble with 43 seconds left in the first to give Edmonton a 1-0 lead. It was the 39-year-old’s 15th of the season and 444th of his career.

Cuylle tied it with his 18th at the 5-minute mark of the second.

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BLUES 7 DUCKS 2

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Brayden Schenn and Pavel Buchnevich each scored in the first 90 seconds, and St. Louis whipped Anaheim 7-2.

Dylan Holloway and Jake Neighbours each had a goal and an assist, and Pavel Buchnevich, Radek Faksa, Mathieu Joseph and Oskar Sundqvist also scored for St. Louis. Jordan Kyrou had three assists, and Justin Faulk had two.

Jordan Binnington made 22 saves as the Blues won for the eighth time in 11 games (8-2-1) to pull into a tie with Vancouver for the second wild card in the Western Conference.

Cutter Gauthier had a goal and an assist, Nikita Nesterenko also scored and Mason McTavish had two assists for the Ducks, who lost for the fifth time in seven games. Lukas Dostal gave up five goals on 14 shots over the first two periods, and Ville Husso stopped 10 of the 12 shots he faced in the third.

Schenn scored his 16th goal of the season 41 seconds into the game, and Buchnevich added his 14th goal just 49 seconds later to give St. Louis an early 2-0 lead.

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ISLANDERS 4 PANTHERS 2

NEW YORK (AP) — Marc Gatcomb kicked off the scoring in the third period and New York scored three more times to defeat Florida.

Maxim Tsyplakov and Noah Dobson also scored and Simon Holmstrom added an empty-net goal to seal the win. Anthony DeAngelo added two assists, and Anders Lee earned his 499th career point with an assist. Ilya Sorokin made 22 stops for the Islanders.

Sam Reinhart and Aleksander Barkov each scored and added an assist for the Panthers. Vitek Vanecek made 30 stops.

Islanders defenceman Mike Reilly had an assist in his first game back since sustaining a concussion Nov. 1 against Buffalo. He also missed time because of a heart defect.

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UTAH 3 CANUCKS 1

VANCOUVER, B.C. (AP) — Logan Cooley scored the winner as Utah edged Vancouver 3-1.

Kevin Stenlund and Clayton Keller — into an empty net — also scored, while Karel Vejmelka stopped 18 shots for Utah. Nick Schmaltz registered two assists.

Quinn Hughes opened the scoring for the Canucks with a power-play tally at the 2:37 mark of the second period.

Kevin Lankinen made 20 saves for Vancouver, which was coming off a 6-2 win over the Blackhawks on Saturday.

The result held playoff implications for both teams as they battle the Calgary Flames and St. Louis Blues for the Western Conference’s final playoff spot.

The Canucks finished the night tied with the Blues in points (73).

The Associated Press