NEW YORK — Alexis Lafreniere scored in overtime and the New York Rangers spoiled a fantastic goal from Nathan MacKinnon plus a great return to Madison Square Garden for Alexandar Georgiev.
The Colorado Avalanche controlled the proceedings for much of the first 40 minutes, but the Rangers played better as the contest went on Monday night and prevailed 2-1 in the extra session.
Georgiev had a strong run of starts before the break, had a great weekend in Toronto and returned to New York for the second with the Avs. And for the second time, he had a fantastic effort against his former team. He stopped 42 of 44 shots in this building last season against the Rangers during a 3-2 shootout win.
Georgiev stopped 49 of 52 shots in the final two games before the break. Then he won $100,000 as the top goalie during the skills competition at the All-Star game, stopping Connor McDavid nine of 11 times in the 1-on-1 challenge.
The Avs goaltender had to make a couple of great saves while Colorado was on the power play in the first period, and was perfect for more than 50 minutes. Then Artemi Panarin found a little space with Makar tracking him along the top of the offensive zone, and his shot beat Georgiev through a maze of bodies in front of him with 8:43 remaining in regulation.
Georgiev’s improved play could be a significant development for the Avalanche. The Avs have looked like one of the best teams in the league on a lot of nights this season independent of the play by the goaltender, but when Georgiev is rolling it strengthens the argument for Colorado being the Stanley Cup favorite.
MacKinnon may have been worried about the extended break while he was in Toronto for the 2024 NHL All-Star Game, but it didn’t take long for him to look like the same destroyer of worlds that he has been for the past 30-plus games. MacKinnon made a great move to shake free from Rangers defenseman K’Andre Miller along the boards on his first shift back, then scored a highlight-reel goal later in the opening period.
It looked like an innocuous breakout from the Avs, but the league has learned that when No. 29 collects the puck in his own end with a full head of steam, it can get dangerous in a hurry. Cale Makar gave MacKinnon the puck one stride before the defensive blue line and he took care of it from there.
MacKinnon danced past Miller’s pokecheck attempt in the neutral zone, blew past Barclay Goodrow and used Braden Schneider as a screen for a shot that went through Jonathan Quick. It was MacKinnon’s 32nd goal of the season.
He now has at least one point in 33 of the past 34 games. His 19-game point streak to start this run is the longest of the NHL season. His current streak is the longest current one in the league.
The goal also brought him level with Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov for the NHL scoring lead. It’s the sixth time in his past nine games that MacKinnon has either equaled Kucherov or passed him in the race for the Art Ross Trophy.
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