MIKKO RANTANEN

Josh Manson scored 8:02 into overtime, Darcy Kuemper made 23 saves in his return to the net from an eye injury, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the St. Louis Blues 3-2 in Game 1 of their second-round series.

The New York Rangers will play the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round of the NHL playoffs.

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Avalanche Penguins Hockey Colorado Avalanche's Nathan MacKinnon, center, celebrates with teammates on the bench after scoring against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, April 5, 2022, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) (Keith Srakocic)PITTSBURGH — (AP) — The Colorado Avalanche clinched a playoff spot with the help of two goals from Nathan MacKinnon in a 6-4 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night. Mikko Rantanen continued a six-game point streak with an assist in his 400th NHL game (he has 400 career points). Colorado opened a 3-1 lead with a pair of second-period goals scored 2:07 apart. Jeff Carter assisted on Guentzel's goal, becoming the 20th active player with 800 NHL points.

Nathan MacKinnon scored two goals and the Colorado Avalanche clinched a playoff spot with a 6-4 win against the Pittsburgh Penguin.

Avalanche Hurricanes Hockey Carolina Hurricanes' Jaccob Slavin (74) and Colorado Avalanche's Mikko Rantanen (96) vie for the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, March 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker) (Karl B DeBlaker)RALEIGH, N.C. — (AP) — Ethan Bear scored the game’s first goal with 5:40 left and Sebastian Aho added an empty-netter to help the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Colorado Avalanche 2-0 on Thursday night. Bear collected a loose puck along the boards near the Avalanche bench and fired a long shot that slipped through Darcy Kuemper. Antti Raanta had 36 saves for his second shutout this season for the Hurricanes, who have won eight of 10. ___Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap___More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsCopyright 2022 The Associated Press.

Alex Galchenyuk was the only scorer in the shootout and the Arizona Coyotes rallied to beat Colorado 3-2, snapping the Avalanche’s 18-game home winning streak.

(AP Photo/David Zalubowski) (David Zalubowski)DENVER — (AP) — Nazem Kadri and Mikko Rantanen scored, Pavel Francouz made 23 saves for his third career shutout and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Chicago Blackhawks 2-0 on Monday night to extend their franchise-record home winning streak to 16 games. It was the seventh straight victory overall for the Avalanche, who tied the 1976 Boston Bruins for the fifth-longest home winning streak in NHL history. An empty-net goal by Colorado in the final moments was waved off for offside. NOTES: Blackhawks G Kevin Lankinen was placed on injured reserve with a hand injury sustained in Saturday’s overtime loss against Minnesota. ___More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsCopyright 2022 The Associated Press.

Nazem Kadri and Mikko Rantanen scored, Pavel Francouz made 23 saves for his third career shutout and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Chicago Blackhawks 2-0 to extend their franchise-record home winning streak to 16 games.

Logan O’Connor scored twice in a 22-second span in a five-goal second period, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Rangers 7-3, ending New York’s seven-game winning streak.

Jonathan Marchessault, Max Pacioretty and William Karlsson came through with timely goals for the Vegas Golden Knights in their 4-2 series win over Colorado.

Avalanche Golden Knights Hockey Vegas Golden Knights center William Karlsson, center left, and Vegas Golden Knights right wing Keegan Kolesar, center right, celebrate with teammates after defeating the Colorado Avalanche in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series Thursday, June 10, 2021, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher) (John Locher)LAS VEGAS — (AP) — Alex Pietrangelo scored his first goal of the postseason to break a tie late in the second period, and the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Colorado Avalanche 6-3 in Game 6 of their second-round series on Thursday night to advance to the Stanley Cup semifinals. The Golden Knights are in NHL's final four for the third time in the franchise's four years. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 30 shots and moved into sole possession of fourth place all-time with 89 playoff wins. Colorado came out of the opening faceoff looking to silence the sold-out crowd, as the Avalanche took advantage of a turnover by Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore.

Alex Pietrangelo scored his first goal of the postseason to break a tie and the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Colorado Avalanche 6-3 in Game 6 to advance to the Stanley Cup semifinals.

Mark Stone scored on a breakaway 50 seconds into overtime as the Vegas Golden Knights overcame a two-goal deficit to beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 and take a 3-2 lead in their second-round playoff series.

APTOPIX Avalanche Golden Knights Hockey Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone (61) celebrates after the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Colorado Avalanche in Game 3 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series Friday, June 4, 2021, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher) (John Locher)LAS VEGAS — (AP) — Jonathan Marchessault and Max Pacioretty scored 45 seconds apart in the third period to lift the Vegas Golden Knights to a 3-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Friday night in Game 3 of their second-round playoff series. William Karlsson also scored for Vegas and Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 18 shots, including two point-blank saves inside the final two minutes to preserve the win. After the Avalanche won the first two games at home, the Golden Knights cut Colorado’s series lead in half to 2-1. Less than a minute later, Pacioretty deflected defenseman Nick Holden’s shot from the point past Grubauer for the go-ahead goal.

Jonathan Marchessault and Max Pacioretty scored 45 seconds apart in the third period to lift the Vegas Golden Knights to a 3-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche in Game 3 of their second-round playoff series.

APTOPIX Golden Knights Avalanche Hockey Colorado Avalanche players congratulate Mikko Rantanen after his overtime goal against the Vegas Golden Knights during Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series Wednesday, June 2, 2021, in Denver. That’s what you need if you want to win the Cup.”The Golden Knights weren't pleased with the slashing call. The Avs and Golden Knights split the eight games in the regular season and finished tied for the most points in the league. “If we keep playing the way we did tonight, we all have confidence in our team that we can come back in the series,” Fleury said. AROUND THE RINKColorado is 14-1 in a best-of-seven playoff series when winning the first two games since relocating to Denver in 1995-96.

Mikko Rantanen scored a power-play goal 2:07 into overtime, Philipp Grubauer outdueled fellow Vezina Trophy finalist Marc-Andre Fleury and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 to take a 2-0 lead in their second-round playoff series.

Mikko Rantanen found himself in the middle of an on-ice swarm from teammates after scoring the winner. Wonderful and all, but he wanted to make sure the real star of the show received his fair share of the credit, too — goaltender Philipp Grubauer. Rantanen scored a power-play goal 2:07 into overtime, Grubauer outdueled fellow Vezina Trophy finalist Marc-Andre Fleury and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 on Wednesday night to take a 2-0 lead in their second-round playoff series.

Golden Knights Avalanche Hockey Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) scores a goal against Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner (90) in the second period of Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series Sunday, May 30, 2021, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey) (Jack Dempsey)DENVER — (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog each scored twice and the well-rested Colorado Avalanche made quick work of Vegas with their speed, beating the Golden Knights 7-1 on Sunday night in a skirmish-filled Game 1 of their second-round playoff series. “Everyone was ready to go and we had a great start.”William Karlsson scored the lone goal for Vegas. He stepped in for Marc-Andre Fleury, who was in net for all seven games as the Golden Knights eliminated Minnesota on Friday. The Golden Knights were none-too-pleased with the shot.

Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog each scored twice as the well-rested Colorado Avalanche made quick work of Vegas with their speed, beating the Golden Knights 7-1 in a skirmish-filled Game 1 of their second-round playoff series.

Captains are leading the way into the second round of the NHL playoffs.

Philipp Grubauer made 18 saves and Gabriel Landeskog scored the go-ahead goal in the second period to lift Colorado to a series sweep of the St. Louis Blues with a 5-2 win in Game 4 of the West Division series.

Nathan MacKinnon finished his first career playoff hat trick with an empty-net goal to help the Colorado Avalanche pull away late for a 6-3 win over St. Louis in Game 2 after the Blues avoided a pregame virus scare that nearly sidelined several players.

Tyson Jost scored two of Colorado’s five second-period goals as the Avalanche clinched the West Division and the top overall seed in the NHL playoffs with a 5-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings.

Six Challenger tennis tournaments scheduled for Canada this year have been canceled because of the pandemic.

Colorado Avalanche right wing Joonas Donskoi reacts after scoring a goal against the Arizona Coyotes in the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, march 31, 2021, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)DENVER – Joonas Donskoi scored three times during Colorado’s five-goal first period, and the Avalanche beat the Arizona Coyotes 9-3 on Wednesday night in front of home fans for the first time this season. To celebrate Donskoi’s accomplishment, fans tossed hats onto the ice — just like old times. Andre Burakovsky and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare also scored in a wild first period that included Arizona goals by Michael Bunting and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. AdGabriel Landeskog finished with two goals, Mikko Rantanen added another and Burakovsky scored his second with 3:11 remaining on an assist by Donskoi.

Vegas Golden Knights right wing Alex Tuch (89) races for the puck against the Colorado Avalanche during the first period of of Outdoor Lake Tahoe NHL hockey game at Stateline, Nev., Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli))STATELINE, Nev. – Nathan MacKinnon scored a dazzling goal more than nine hours after assisting on another to highlight a most unusual and lengthy outdoor game at Lake Tahoe that the Colorado Avalanche won 3-2 over the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday. Although it’s fair to say that none of those had the picturesque setting of this rink located on the 18th fairway of a golf course on the shores of Lake Tahoe and surrounded by trees with snow-covered mountains towering in the background. Fleury made 36 saves for Vegas and fell to 0-3 in three career outdoor game starts. AdPART 1The Avs controlled the play under the sun, getting an early goal from Girard and outshooting Vegas 17-8 in the first 20 minutes.

San Jose's Erik Karlsson (65) handles the puck against Minnesota Wild's Nick Bjugstad (27) in the third period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Jan. 24, 2021, in St. Paul, Minn. San Jose won 5-3. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs)With an outbreak delaying the Dallas Stars' opener, Rick Bowness got to watch a lot of hockey in the first couple of nights of the NHL season. “It was entertaining hockey, but it was a little sloppy,” Bowness said. “We’re staying in 5-star hotels, get to play hockey, so I can’t complain,” defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic said. Ad___Follow AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SWhyno___More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

FILE - In this Feb. 16, 2019, file photo, St. Louis Blues right wing Vladimir Tarasenko, right, is congratulated as he passes the team box after scoring a goal against the Colorado Avalanche during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Denver. Tarasenko makes his return after early season shoulder surgery that limited him to three goals in 10 games. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

Ditto for St. Louis, the defending Stanley Cup champions. The Blues and Avalanche were navigating through some key injuries before the season was halted in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. The hiatus allowed time to heal and now the top two teams in the Western Conference return as Cup favorites. The two teams get things rolling Sunday in Edmonton by facing each other to kick off a round-robin tournament to determine seeding in the West. It should be a fun ride.Back on the ice for the Blues is forward Vladimir Tarasenko, who underwent shoulder surgery in late October.