MacKinnon scores 53rd goal of season, Avalanche hold off Flames

CALGARY -- Nathan MacKinnon scored his League-leading 53rd goal of the season and Mackenzie Blackwood made 30 saves for the Colorado Avalanche, who won their eighth straight road game by defeating the Calgary Flames 3-1 at Scotiabank Saddledome on Tuesday.

“It feels like we’re a little simpler on the road,” MacKinnon said. “We give up a little less it feels like for some reason lately. We had a great start there at home. We’ve been a really good road team all year. You’ve got to be a really good road team to have success.”

Gabriel Landeskog scored the game-deciding goal in the third period, and defenseman Cale Makar had three assists in his return to the lineup for the Avalanche (54-16-11) after missing the past seven games with an upper-body injury.

“Obviously, he’s the best defenseman in the world, (he) pushes the pace,” MacKinnon said of Makar. “He was great tonight, made some really good plays, so it’s good to have him back.”

Situated in the slot battling for position with Flames defenseman Zayne Parekh, Landeskog redirected a wrist shot by Brett Kulak from the point past Calgary goalie Dustin Wolf at 15:07 of the third period to give the Avalanche a 2-1 lead.

“I’ve seen that hundreds of times, it feels like,” MacKinnon said. “He gets in that soft spot and he's so good at that. We’ve got a lot of big bodies, but he gets in those spots for the high tips and hopefully he does that a lot in the springtime here.”

MacKinnon scored into an empty net at 19:43 of the third period for the 3-1 final. Martin Necas had an assist for his 100th point of the season.

“I’m happy to get Marty 100 points, that was the goal,” MacKinnon said.

Having already clinched the top seed in the Western Conference, the Central Division title and the Presidents’ Trophy, Colorado rested forward Brock Nelson and defenseman Devon Toews.

“We’ve solidified our position obviously, so you’re just trying to stay as sharp as you can,” Avalanche assistant coach Nolan Pratt said. “Obviously it’s tough when you’re looking ahead at what’s to come. Really it’s just about us trying to keep our game where it’s at and preparing for what’s coming forward.”

Colorado was without head coach Jared Bednar, who sustained facial fractures and a corneal abrasion after he was struck by a puck in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday. Pratt and fellow assistant Dave Hakstol coached the team in his absence on Colorado’s two-game road trip.

Blake Coleman scored for the Flames (33-39-9), who had won two in a row at home and had gone 7-0-1 in their past eight at the Saddledome. Wolf made 36 saves.

“I thought it was a pretty even game,” Coleman said. “It really could have gone either way. Our power play had a lot to be desired tonight. Aside from that, I thought guys played hard and played well. It felt like it would come down to one bounce and they get a nice tip there in the third and we couldn’t convert on our chances.”

Blackwood kept the game scoreless at 3:06 of the second period by making a left pad save to deny a breakaway attempt by Flames rookie forward Tyson Gross.

Coleman made it 1-0 for the Flames at 7:22, scoring his 20th goal of the season by tipping Mikael Backlund’s shot into the top corner over Blackwood’s glove while being checked to the ice by Kulak.

“It’s cool,” Coleman said of reaching the 20-goal mark. “For whatever reason, round numbers, they just feel good. It’s not an easy achievement to get to. Ask (coach Ryan Huska), I’ve got bad hands, so even more difficult for me to get there.”

Artturi Lehkonen scored to tie it 1-1 at 11:25, one-timing a cross-ice feed from Makar past Wolf.

“He can see things that other people can’t and if you give him a little bit of space, he can hurt you and he did on that one,” Pratt said of Makar’s work on the goal. “And it’s a great job by ‘Lehky’ getting into that space and really a fantastic shot as well.”

After the Flames killed off a lengthy two-man advantage for Colorado, Wolf stood his ground to stop a short-handed breakaway attempt by Makar at 17:24.

The Flames played the third period without defenseman Zach Whitecloud, who left the game late in the second period after taking a puck to the face.

“He’s getting some dental work, that’s all I know unfortunately,” Huska said. “‘Whitey’ does a lot of the heavy lifting as we know. I think the other guys stepped up and did a good job in his absence.”

NOTES: Makar factored on a game-winning goal for the 92nd time in his career since his regular-season debut in 2019-20. That’s the most among defensemen during that span and seven more than the next closest (Adam Fox: 85). … Colorado captured its 29th road win in 2025-26 and tied the most in a single season in franchise history (also 29 in 2022-23). … The Avalanche (54-16-11, 119 points) matched 2021-22 (56-19-7, 119 points) for their most points in a season. They have one game remaining, against the Seattle Kraken on Thursday, to surpass the mark.