Ottawa Senators' Brady Tkachuk (7) falls to the ice as he vies for the puck with Anaheim Ducks' Pavel Mintyukov (34) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, March 6, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
DENVER (AP) – Cale Makar had his first career hat trick, Nathan MacKinnon extended his home points streak to 31 games with a goal and three assists and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Detroit Red Wings 7-2 on Wednesday night.
Makar had the fourth hat trick by a defenseman in the team’s NHL franchise history. He joined Sandis Ozolinsh (Dec. 6, 1999), Uwe Krupp (March 1, 1995) and Bryan Fogarty (Dec. 1, 1990), according to NHL Stats. Makar also had an assist.
MacKinnon had his second straight four-point game. He has an NHL-leading 109 points.
Artturi Lehkonen, Jonathan Drouin and Jean-Luc Foudy also scored. It was the first NHL goal for the recent call-up Foudy. Mikko Rantanen finished with four assists for the Avalanche, who made two trades before the game to fortify their roster.
Alexandar Georgiev stopped 27 shots for his 32nd win.
Robby Fabbri and David Perron scored for a Detroit team that has dropped three straight. The Red Wings were without scoring leader Dylan Larkin due to a lower-body injury.
MAPLE LEAFS 2, SABRES 1, OT
TORONTO (AP) – Auston Matthews scored his NHL-leading 54th goal at 4:20 of overtime to lift Toronto past Buffalo.
Matthews took Mitch Marner’s feed from behind the net and beat Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen high to the blocker side.
William Nylander also scored to help Toronto rebound for a 4-1 home loss to Boston on Monday night – with a rematch with the Bruins ahead Thursday night in Boston. The Maple Leafs are 10-2-0 in their last 12 and 36-18-8 overall.
Ilya Samsonov made 24 saves, the best when he gloved Tage Thompson’s shot in overtime. Victor Olofsson scored for Buffalo. Luukkonen stopped 25 shots.
DUCKS 2, SENATORS 1
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) – Alex Killorn scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period and Anaheim beat Ottawa for its third victory in four games.
Ryan Strome also scored and Lukas Dostal made 29 saves for the Ducks in a meeting of two long-struggling franchises.
Mark Kastelic scored and Mads Sogaard stopped 14 shots for the Senators. They lost their fifth straight overall in the opener of a three-game California swing.
___ AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
