Mika Zibanejad dropped the puck back to Lafreniere, who kept it in the right face-off circle, curled back and scored with a wrist shot. Jonathan Quick was credited with the secondary assist after he came out of the net to clear the puck and set the Rangers off on the rush.
Artemi Panarin tied the game 1-1 at 11:17 of the third period.
Quick made 31 saves for the Rangers (31-16-3), who were playing their first game since a 7-2 win at the Ottawa Senators on Jan. 27.
Nathan MacKinnon scored for the Avalanche to extend his point streak to 14 games (13 goals, 16 assists) and his goal scoring streak to five games (nine goals). He has at least one point in 33 of 34 games since Nov. 20, totaling 65 points (26 goals, 39 assists).
Alexandar Georgiev made 27 saves for Colorado (32-14-4), which had won three straight games before the All-Star break.
MacKinnon scored at 18:12 of the first period to give the Avalanche a 1-0 lead. He took a pass from Cale Makar inside Colorado's defensive zone, picked up speed through the neutral zone, and beat Quick five-hole with a wrist shot from the right circle.
Panarin tied it 1-1 with 8:43 remaining in the third period. He got the puck behind the net, skated up the left wing, and held off Makar as he cut across the point before scoring with a wrist shot through traffic.
