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By Pat Graham
DENVER (AP) — Cale Makar had his first career hat trick, Nathan MacKinnon extended his home points streak to 31 games with a goal and three assists and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Detroit Red Wings 7-2 on Wednesday night.
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Makar had the fourth hat trick by a defenseman in the team’s NHL franchise history. He joined Sandis Ozolinsh (Dec. 6, 1999), Uwe Krupp (March 1, 1995) and Bryan Fogarty (Dec. 1, 1990), according to NHL Stats. Makar also had an assist.
MacKinnon had his second straight four-point game. He has an NHL-leading 109 points.
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Artturi Lehkonen, Jonathan Drouin and Jean-Luc Foudy also scored. It was the first NHL goal for the recent call-up Foudy. Mikko Rantanen finished with four assists for the Avalanche, who made two trades before the game to fortify their roster.
Alexandar Georgiev stopped 27 shots for his 32nd win.
Robby Fabbri and David Perron scored for a Detroit team that has dropped three straight. The Red Wings were without scoring leader Dylan Larkin due to a lower-body injury.
Alex Lyon started in goal for Detroit, but was relieved by James Reimer for the third period on a night when the Avalanche had 54 shots.
After falling behind 2-1 in the first period, the Avalanche scored six straight goals.
At 31 games, MacKinnon is tied for the fourth-longest home points streak in NHL history with Bryan Trottier (1981-82) and Mario Lemieux (1995-96).
Before the game, Colorado picked up defenseman Sean Walker from Philadelphia and center Casey Mittelstadt from Buffalo.
Walker and Mittelstadt weren’t able to arrive in time so the team called up Ondrej Pavel and Foudy from the Colorado Eagles of the AHL.
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Former Red Wings and Avalanche forward Darren Helm dropped the puck in a ceremonial faceoff. He won a Stanley Cup with Detroit in 2008 and with Colorado in 2022.
The Avalanche also welcomed back Red Wings forward J.T. Compher with a video tribute in the first period. Compher spent his first seven NHL seasons in Colorado and helped the team to the 2022 Stanley Cup.
“He’s a great friend of mine and it was fun to share all those years with him,” Rantanen said. “A brother for life.”
The feeling was mutual.
“It helps when you win,” Compher said. “It bonds you forever.”
UP NEXT
Red Wings: At Arizona on Friday night.
Avalanche: Host Minnesota on Friday night.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
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