Rapid Recap: Rangers 5, Avalanche 3

NEW YORK--The Colorado Avalanche wrapped up its three-game road trip with a 5-3 loss at the New York Rangers on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.
J.T. Compher scored twice, his first multi-goal game of the season, while Nathan MacKinnon recorded his 26th tally of the year in his 500th career NHL game. Avs forward Andre Burakovsky had two assists in the contest, while Samuel Girard had a helper as well.
Five different Rangers scored as Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, Brady Skjei, Ryan Strome and Artemi Panarin all found twine. Jesper Fast had three assists while Panarin and Tony DeAngelo added two helpers each. New York goaltender Igor Shesterkin made 29 saves in his NHL debut.

The contest was the second half of a back-to-back set for Colorado, which played at the New York Islanders on Monday. The Avs won 5-2 at the New Jersey Devils on Saturday to begin the trip.
Colorado opens a five-game homestand on Friday against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Statistics
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Highlights
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Watch: Coach Bednar Postgame

THE GOALS

1st Period
4:44 COL (1-0) - J.T. Compher deflected a shot from Samuel Girard past rookie goalie Igor Shesterkin.
6:34 COL (2-0) - Nathan MacKinnon picked up a loose puck at the blue line and scored five-hole on a breakaway.
8:57 NYR (2-1) - PPG, Chris Kreider redirected the puck into the net early on a man advantage.
15:23 NYR (2-2) - Mika Zibanejad took a pass in front from Tony DeAngelo and whacked in the puck to tie the game.
2nd Period
8:05 NYR (2-3) - Brady Skjei went top shelf with a one-time shot from the blue line.
11:32 COL (3-3) - J.T. Compher took a low cross pass and buried a shot near the crease.
13:39 NYR (3-4) - Ryan Strome cleaned up a rebound to give the Rangers back the lead.
3rd Period
19:32 NYR (3-5) - ENG, Artemi Panarin scored into an empty net to record his 23rd goal of the year.
Final: Rangers - 5 | Avalanche - 3

3 STARS

Selected by attending media

POWER PLAYS

Colorado: 0 for 3
N.Y. Rangers: 1 for 3

GOALTENDING BATTLE

Colorado: Philipp Grubauer stopped 24 shots.
N.Y. Rangers: Igor Shesterkin made his NHL debut and finished with 29 saves. After stopping the first shot he faced, J.T. Compher and Nathan MacKinnon scored on the ensuing two chances.

STAT OF THE NIGHT

Samuel Girard registered an assist and now has nine points (all assists) in his last five games. He is the first defenseman in franchise history to record nine assists in a five-game span. Girard is one helper shy of matching his career high of 23 set last season.

NOTEBOOK

Nathan MacKinnon skated in his 500th career NHL game. He is the sixth Avalanche draft pick (since 1995-96) to reach the half-century mark with the team… MacKinnon scored his 26th goal of the season, tied for the third most in the NHL. His 65 points (26 goals, 39 assists) are third in the league... J.T. Compher scored twice for his first multi-goal game of the season and fourth of his career. All four have come on the road… Ryan Graves, who was selected by the Rangers in the fourth round of the 2013 draft, played his first game at Madison Square Garden… The Avalanche wrapped up its eighth consecutive-night set of the season and now has a 3-4-1 record in the back half of such series... Colorado concludes a four-game stretch against Eastern Conference opponents on Friday against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Avs have an 11-4-2 mark against the East this year.
BIG HIGHLIGHT

IMAGE OF THE GAME

You have a little smudge on your face.

ROSTER REPORT

The Avalanche made a slight adjustment to its forward combinations for the game, including reuniting its top line of Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen. Matt Calvert played on a trio with J.T. Compher and Andre Burakovsky, while Nazem Kadri began the outing on a unit with Joonas Donskoi and Valeri Nichushkin… Mark Barberio and Vladislav Kamenev were the healthy scratches.

INJURY UPDATE

Joonas Donskoi left with 3:37 left in the first period with an injury after taking a high hit from Ryan Lindgren. Head coach Jared Bednar did not have an update on Donskoi's status after the game… Colin Wilson (lower body) is out indefinitely after having surgery.

UP NEXT

The Avalanche now heads back to Colorado for the remainder of the month as the team won't play on the road again until Feb. 1 at the Philadelphia Flyers. The Avs begin a season-long five-game homestand on Friday versus the Pittsburgh Penguins at Pepsi Center.

LINE COMBINATIONS

Based on the start of the game
Forwards
92 Gabriel Landeskog - 29 Nathan MacKinnon - 96 Mikko Rantanen
13 Valeri Nichushkin - 91 Nazem Kadri - 72 Joonas Donskoi
95 Andre Burakovsky - 37 J.T. Compher - 11 Matt Calvert
17 Tyson Jost - 41 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - 83 Matt Nieto
Defensemen
27 Ryan Graves - 8 Cale Makar
49 Samuel Girard - 6 Erik Johnson
16 Nikita Zadorov - 28 Ian Cole
Goaltenders
31 Philipp Grubauer
39 Pavel Francouz