ANAHEIM \u2014 This Colorado Avalanche team still has the juice.<\/p>\n
Playing for the second consecutive night and fifth time in seven days, the Avs traveled down I-5 and completed a sweep of the Southern California teams with an impressive 5-1 win against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center.<\/p>\n
Cale Makar had three points, Parker Kelly scored twice, Scott Wedgewood made 27 saves and Nathan MacKinnon reached the century mark in the victory. The Avs, who limped into the 2026 Winter Olympics break with six wins in 15 games (6-7-2) just went 4-1 during the most grueling stretch of their schedule this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would have been like, \u2018I hope so,\u2019 \u201d Makar said when asked what he would have said a week ago about going 4-1 to start the stretch run. \u201cWe\u2019ve got some fresh legs coming out of the break. Obviously, it\u2019s not ideal to go five in seven, but I liked the compete through all the games for the guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Ducks had won 12 of 14 games to climb into second place in the Pacific Division. They were on normal rest. The Avs rolled anyway.<\/p>\n
Colorado had three road games against teams either in a playoff spot or fighting for one. The Avs won all three.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think to be at the top of your game for 82 is very hard to do, let alone 60 minutes,\u201d Wedgewood said of the pre-break funk. \u201cAfter kind of seeing where we went wrong and the analytics showed what we were doing, we addressed it, and we\u2019ve kind of been back on that top-tier push that we\u2019ve been on since the start of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n
This was the last game before the 2026 trade deadline, which is Friday afternoon \u2014 a few hours before the league-leading Avs will face second-place Dallas in North Texas. Both teams could look different by then.<\/p>\n
![\"ANAHEIM,](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1772633079_86_GettyImages-2264672801.jpg\")
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 03: Ross Colton #20 congratulates Cale Makar #8 of the Colorado Avalanche after his goal during the first period of a game against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center on March 03, 2026 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to get some rest after that five in seven with all the travel,\u201d Avs coach Jared Bednar said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to try and be as energized and ready to go as we can be for Dallas. That\u2019s our focus. Management worries about the rest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Makar gave the Avs the lead with his 18th goal of the season at 11:33 of the opening period. Brock Nelson made a slick pass to get Makar free in the right circle. His attempted centering pass as he skated towards the net didn\u2019t pan out, but he swooped around the cage, picked up the puck again and then froze Ryan Pehling with a juke move before snapping a shot past Anaheim goalie Lukas Dostal.<\/p>\n
Martin Necas made it a two-goal advantage less than three minutes later. MacKinnon drew a tripping penalty, and the Avs\u2019 top power-play unit made it count. Nelson sent a diagonal pass from near the right corner out to Necas at the top of the left circle, and he hammered a one-timer off the crossbar and in behind Dostal, his Czechia Olympic teammate, at 14:05 of the first.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s 27 goals for Necas this season in 57 games, which matches his total from last year and is one shy of his career-best effort in 2022-23. He\u2019s also on pace for 99 points, which would blow past his career high of 83, which he set in 2023-24.<\/p>\n
Cutter Gauthier cut Colorado\u2019s lead in half at 4:50 of the second period. The Ducks thought they scored at 2:30, but a goal was wiped off the board because Chris Kreider had collided with Wedgewood\u2019s arm\/shoulder at the top of the crease just before the puck went in. The goal was waived off and Kreider went to the box for goaltender interference.<\/p>\n
The ensuing power play did not go well for the visitors, and then Gauthier fired home a one-timer from Jackson Lacombe 20 seconds after the penalty expired.<\/p>\n
Parker Kelly\u2019s career year kept rolling late in the middle period. Makar fed him the puck at the top of the left circle, and Kelly wired a long-distance wrist shot past Dostal at 15:03.<\/p>\n
That was No. 14 for Kelly. He added No. 15 in the third period to make it a 5-1 advantage. Kelly\u2019s career-best output before this season was eight goals, each of the previous two seasons.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, I don\u2019t know. Things are going in,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cMy linemates have been great this year. \u2026 Credit to all of them. I\u2019m just getting a little bit lucky as well, as I\u2019ve said before. Things are just going in. It\u2019s one of those years, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n
Captain Gabe Landeskog scored for the second straight night to make it a three-goal lead at 4:35 of the third period. MacKinnon carried the puck into the offensive zone on a rush, and Landeskog blasted a one-timer past Dostal.<\/p>\n
That assist was the 100th point of the season for MacKinnon. It\u2019s his fourth straight 100-point campaign. He\u2019s currently on pace for 137, just shy of the 140 he had in his MVP season two years ago.<\/p>\n
This was Makar\u2019s fifth game with three or more points this season, but his first since Jan. 8. He\u2019s got three goals and six points during this three-game streak and has had dominant underlying numbers. He\u2019s got some work to do down the stretch if he\u2019s going to win the Norris Trophy for the third time in his career.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a significant amount of maturity from the group and focus coming into this stretch,\u201d Bednar said. \u201cNow we\u2019re through it and getting ready for one of the biggest games of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n
FOOTNOTE: Avs forward Artturi Lehkonen (upper body) is out week-to-week, a team spokesman said before the game. Lehkonen left the game Monday night in the first period in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n