Leo Carlsson and Sam Carrick scored but the Ducks could not complete a third-period comeback tonight in Colorado, falling 3-2 to the Avalanche at Ball Arena.
The loss dropped Anaheim to 10-15-0 on the season and 5-6-0 away from home ice. The Ducks conclude a two-game roadtrip Thursday in Chicago.
Carlsson and Carrick scored three minutes apart in the third period to cut a three-goal Avs lead to 3-2 with six minutes to play in regulation. Troy Terry and Cam Fowler collected assists. John Gibson made 28 saves.
Kurtis MacDemid, Nathan MacKinnon and Logan O'Connor scored for the Avalanche, who improved to 16-7-2 (34 points) with a three-point lead on the Stars atop the Central Division. Alexander Georgiev earned the win in net, his second of the season over the Ducks, with 30 saves.
Colorado claimed the lead first just a couple of minutes into the action when MacDermid took a centering pass from MacKinnon and lifted a snap shot over Gibson's glove from the left faceoff circle.
Ducks forward Max Jones left the game with an upper-body injury midway through the second period following a hit from behind into the boards by O'Connor, a retaliatory play after Jones knocked down defenseman Bowen Byram with a clean open-ice check. O'Connor was assessed a two-minute minor for roughing. Jones did not return to the game.
MacKinnon doubled the lead before the period ended, slamming home a backdoor pass from Jonathan Drouin after a long shift in the offensive zone for Colorado.
O'Connor made it 3-0 early in the third, first tapping a rebound through Gibson's legs from in tight after a backhand bid by MacKinnon and then pushing it over the line after it snuck between the goaltender's pads.
Anaheim would get within one in the third on a pair of special teams goals, a shorty from Carrick and a power-play marker from Carlsson a few minutes later.
Carrick put Anaheim on the board after a neutral zone turnover by the Avs power play, jumping on the loose puck and spoiling Georgiev's shutout bid with a wrister over the glove.
