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MacKinnon, Varlamov lead Avalanche past Blues 4-1

Joel Edmundson scored for St. Louis, and Jake Allen finished with 19 saves.
Credit: Jeff Curry
Mar 15, 2018; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues goaltender Jake Allen (34) gives up a goal to Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) during the first period at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon had two goals and an assist, Semyon Varlamov stopped 44 shots and the Colorado Avalanche beat the St. Louis Blues 4-1 on Thursday night.

Mikko Rantanen also scored twice to help the Avalanche win their third straight to move into the first wild card spot in the Western Conference, one point ahead of idle Dallas — and five ahead of St. Louis. The Avalanche, who won 10 in a row from Dec. 29-Jan. 22, are 6-0-3 in their last eight games.

Joel Edmundson scored for St. Louis, and Jake Allen finished with 19 saves.

MacKinnon scored twice in a span of 2:53 in the first period to give Colorado a 2-0 lead with just under seven minutes remaining. He has 11 goals and 13 assists in 13 games since returning from a shoulder injury on Feb. 18.

MacKinnon, who leads the team with 35 goals, had his 24 multipoint game, the most by a Colorado player since Joe Sakic posted 28 in the 2006-07 season.

Edmundson pulled the Blues within one at 9:15 of the second with his seventh.

Rantanen slipped a backhander past Allen with about 3 1/2 minutes left in the middle period, and added an empty-netter with 41 seconds to go in the third.

NOTES: Nicole Hensley, a goalie on the gold-medal winning U.S. Olympic women's hockey team, dropped the ceremonial first puck. Hensley played college hockey at Lindenwood University in nearby St. Charles. ... Edmundson returned to the lineup after missing 13 games with fractured right forearm. The Blues were 4-7-2 without him. ... Colorado's string of eight successive games with a power-play goal came to a halt. It was the longest streak since Jan. 14-31, 2006. ... The Blues have scored first in 38 of 71 games this season.

UP NEXT

Avalanche: Host Nashville on Friday night.

Blues: Host the New York Rangers on Saturday night.

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