National Hockey League
Colorado 4, St. Louis 1
When: 8:00 PM ET, Thursday, March 15, 2018
Where: Scottrade Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Referees: Kendrick Nicholson, Chris Rooney
Linesmen: Shandor Alphonso, Steve Barton
Attendance: 18885
Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen both scored two goals as the visiting Colorado Avalanche downed the St. Louis Blues 4-1 on Thursday night.

MacKinnon's two first-period goals staked the Avs to a 2-0 lead, and the Blues never managed to equalize. He added an assist to extend his points streak to 10 games and now has 10 goals and 10 assists during the stretch.

Rantanen scored his second goal in the game's final minute to cap a four-point night as he also recorded two assists.

Avs captain Gabriel Landeskog chipped in three assists.

Joel Edmundson, in his first game back since missing five weeks with a fractured forearm suffered against Colorado on Feb. 8, scored the Blues' lone goal.

The Avalanche posted their sixth win in nine games while grabbing the top wild-card spot in the Western Conference ahead of Dallas, and moving within a point of third-place Minnesota in the Central Division playoff race.

The slumping Blues, who have plummeted in the standings since November, suffered their third straight loss and eighth in the past 11 games.

MacKinnon scored his goals less than three minutes apart in the first period. The first goal came on a three-way passing play that he began and finished midway through the first period. Rantanen and Landeskog earned assists on the goal.

Just under three minutes later, MacKinnon added his second, knocking in Tyson Barrie's rebound.

Edmundson snapped home a shot from the blue line at 9:15 of the second period, bringing the Blues within a goal at 2-1.

But Rantanen restored Colorado's two-goal lead at 16:29 of the second period as he took Landeskog's pass from the Avalanche end. Skating near the St. Louis blue line, Rantanen accepted a pass and then scored on a partial breakaway, beating Allen with a backhand.

Avs goalie Semyon Varlamov stopped 44 of 45 shots for his 20th win of the season - while making his 15th straight appearance.

St. Louis goal Jake Allen stopped 19 of 22 shots.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Colorado   St. Louis
Mikko Rantanen 4 Points Joel Edmundson 1
Mikko Rantanen 2 Goals Joel Edmundson 1
Gabriel Landeskog 3 Assists Dmitrij Jaskin 1
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Semyon Varlamov .978 Save Percentage Jake Allen .864
Semyon Varlamov 44 Saves Jake Allen 19
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Colorado 23 4 0-1 2-2 4 21
St. Louis 45 1 0-2 1-1 2 23
Upcoming Games
  • St. Louis will play their next game at home against NY Rangers. The Blues have a W/L % of .568 after a win and .485 after a loss.
  • Colorado will play their next game at home against Nashville. The Avalanche have a W/L % of .553 after a win and .531 after a loss.