Eurolanche

Avs aim to end 3-game skid vs. Rangers

Nathan MacKinnon scored the game-tying goal in the third period and converted in the shootout to give the Colorado Avalanche a 4-3 win against the New York Rangers on Nov. 13 at Madison Square Garden. Matt Duchene and Alex Tanguay also scored for the Avalanche. The Rangers received goals from Derek Stepan, Dan Girardi and Kevin Hayes.

Rangers (31-16-5) team scope: New York kept its forward lines intact following a 5-4 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, but made changes to the power-play groups at practice Wednesday. Defenseman Dan Boyle and forward Martin St. Louis were moved to the second unit with defenseman Ryan McDonagh; forward Mats Zuccarello was promoted to the first unit. Zuccarello scored twice Tuesday and has three goals and five assists during a six-game point streak while jelling with linemates Derick Brassard and Rick Nash. "The way Mats has been playing the past four, five games for us, he deserves to be on that top unit," coach Alain Vigneault said, according to BlueshirtsUnited.com. Goalie Cam Talbot, who has allowed three or more goals in three of his past four games, will make his fifth straight start. Vigneault needs two wins for 500 in his NHL coaching career.

Avalanche (22-21-11) team scope: Colorado has lost three straight games, twice by shutout, and has been outscored 9-3 while enduring an 0-for-27 drought on the power play. Despite the slump, forward Matt Duchene, who scored his first goal in seven games in a loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday, has not given up on the race to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs. "We want to stay together as a group," Duchene told the Denver Post after practice on Wednesday. "We believe in each other and what we have here. We believe we can win and we can be there. We're still not that far out." Defenseman Tyson Barrie's first-period goal Sunday was the Avalanche's first in 136:16. Colorado is 2-3-1 since defenseman Erik Johnson had arthroscopic knee surgery on Jan. 26.

-- by Jon Lane for NHL.com --