Sporty.com | NHL: Makar has 1st hat trick as Avalanche rout Red Wings

Cale Makar notched his first career hat trick and added an assist as the Colorado Avalanche rolled to a 7-2 rout of the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday.

Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and three assists and Mikko Rantanen tied a career high with four assists as the Avalanche won for the fourth time in five games.

Makar’s first goal of the game at 5:15 of the first period forged a 1-1 tie, and he scored twice late in the second to extend Colorado’s lead to 5-2.

Makar’s hat trick was the fourth by a defenseman in the team’s NHL history and the first since Sandis Ozolinsh against Vancouver on Dec. 6, 1999.

MacKinnon had his second straight four-point game and took over sole possession of the NHL scoring lead with 109 points, four ahead of Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov.

MacKinnon extended his home point streak to 31 games and his overall run to 11 games.

David Perron and Robby Fabbri scored for the Red Wings, who have lost three straight after winning six in a row.

All. Hail. Cale. #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/aHT3ciTWEr
— AltitudeTV (@AltitudeTV) March 7, 2024

Matthews lifts Leafs over Sabres in OT

Auston Matthews scored his league-leading 54th goal with 40 seconds left in overtime to lift the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 2-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres.

William Nylander scored in the second period and Ilya Samsonov stopped 23 shots for the Maple Leafs, who have won 10 of their last 12 games and avoided a third straight loss this season to the Sabres.

Victor Olofsson had the lone goal for Buffalo, which has points in six of its past eight contests (5-2-1).

we trust you'll all react normally to this pic.twitter.com/3eMUdAMAs6
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) March 7, 2024

Ducks edge Senators

Alex Killorn snapped a tie early in the third period and Lukas Dostal stopped 29 shots in the Anaheim Ducks’ 2-1 win over the Ottawa Senators in a matchup of teams already playing out the string.

Ryan Strome had the other goal as the Ducks won their third in four games despite playing without three of their top four scorers due to injuries and trades.

Mark Kastelic scored for the Senators, who dropped their fifth straight in the opener of a three-game California swing.