DENVER (AP) — J.T Compher scored at 2:50 of overtime and Tyson Jost and Vladislav Namestnikov also had goals to lead the Colorado Avalanche over the New York Rangers 3-2 on Wednesday night.
Cale Makar had three assists in his return to the lineup from an upper-body injury that kept him out for five games. Compher tipped in his shot from the top of the zone to give Colorado the win.
Pavel Francouz stopped 30 shots for the Avalanche.
The Rangers gained a point on Carolina and Columbus in the chase for the two wild card spots in the Eastern Conference. Mika Zibanejad scored his 41st goal, Pavel Buchnevich also scored and Adam Fox and Alexandar Georgiev had 25 saves, for New York, which is two points behind the Hurricanes and Blue Jackets.
Colorado played without All-Star center Nathan MacKinnon, who missed his first game of the season. MacKinnon, who came into Wednesday fifth in the NHL in scoring with 93 points (35 goals, 58 assists), suffered a lower-body injury in a loss at Los Angeles on Monday night.
The Avalanche stayed within a two points of St. Louis. The Blues have played one more game than Colorado and have 94 points, tops in the Western Conference.
The Avalanche are 15-5-2 since losing four in a row in early January.
Zibanejad gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead at 6:28 of the first, continuing is torrid streak. He has scored at least one goal in the last six games and has 17 in the last 13.
Jost tied it later in the first with his eighth of the season and Namestnikov put Colorado up when he beat Georgiev on a screened shot at 3:55 of the second period. It was his 17th of the season and fifth since joining the Avalanche at the trade deadline.
With Georgiev on the bench for an extra skater Buchnevich’s 16th goal of the season tied it with 13 seconds left.
NOTES: Gabriel Landeskog also had two assists. ... Zibanejad has five goals in his last nine games against Colorado. ... Avalanche RW Joonas Donskoi was helped off the ice late in the third after a hard hit by Rangers LW Brendan Lemieux. ... New York suffered just its second road loss in the last 12 games.
UP NEXT
Rangers: Play at the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday night.
Avalanche: Host the Vancouver Canucks on Friday night.
The NHL released a statement on the future of the season:
