Avalanche 2, Rangers 1
NEW YORK -- Center Matt Duchene scored his 14th goal and goaltender Semyon Varlamov turned aside 24 shots as the Colorado Avalanche defeated the New York Rangers 2-1 at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night.
Both teams were playing their third game in four nights and it showed in the pace of play. The teams combined for just 43 shots and the Rangers didn't register their first shot until there was 8:24 left in the first period.
Center Chris Wagner also scored for the Avalanche, who won three of four.
Goaltender Antti Raanta made 16 saves for the Rangers, who lost five of six.
Rangers center Oscar Lindberg scored his 10th of the season.
After a first period that featured seven combined shots, the Avalanche struck twice during the second period.
Wagner's third goal of the season gave the Avalanche a 1-0 lead at 13:21. He streaked down the right wing and fired a shot that beat Raanta less than a minute after a scary incident.
Rangers left winger Rick Nash became tangled with Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson. As Nash fell to the ice, his skate caught Johnson in the face. Johnson went immediately to the locker room but returned to the game later in the period.
With 2:23 left in the period, Duchene extended the lead to 2-0. Left winger Gabriel Landeskog fed the puck to Duchene on a 2-on-1, and Duchene ripped a shot inside the far post.
Rangers left winger Chris Kreider had a partial breakaway with about six minutes to play in the third period but lost his balance while attempting to lean into an Avalanche defender and failed to get a shot on net.
Raanta was pulled for an extra attacker with three minutes remaining. Center Oscar Lindberg scored with 49.5 seconds remaining to cut the lead to 2-1, as he scored from the near the crease after center Derick Brassard's initial shot was stopped by Varlamov.
NOTES: Avalanche LW Alex Tanguay was back in the lineup after missing 11 games with a sprained right knee. The injury occurred when the teams met on Nov. 6 in Denver. ... Avalanche D Brad Stuart (back), C Ben Street (chest) and C Jesse Winchester (head) were unavailable. All three are out indefinitely. ... Rangers D Kevin Klein (pulled muscle) and C Derek Stepan (ribs) are out at least two weeks and a month, respectively. ... Rangers RW Emerson Etem was a healthy scratch.