DENVER (AP) – Nathan MacKinnon scored the tiebreaking goal 30 seconds into the third period and later added an empty-netter, Philipp Grubauer stopped 22 shots and the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche beat the St. Louis Blues 4-1 in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series. Gabriel Landeskog also added a third-period goal by tipping in a blue-line blast from MacKinnon. Cale Makar got things started with a power-play goal in the first period. Game 2 is Wednesday. Jordan Kyrou scored his first postseason goal for a Blues team missing leading scorer David Perron, who’s out due to the NHL’s virus protocols. Tonight the Avalanche host the Blues tonight in game two of the best of seven opening series. |