Makar lifts Avalanche past Blackhawks in OT

CHICAGO --Cale Makar scored at 2:38 of overtime to give the Colorado Avalanche a 4-3 win against the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center on Tuesday.

Makar spun away from Kirby Dach along the left wall before deking from forehand to backhand and shooting just under the crossbar.
"It was a little bit lucky to be honest," said Makar, who leads NHL defensemen with 14 goals this season. "[Dach] was kind of overcommitting for a cycle up top, and I just decided that I'd try and take it to the net. We had a decoy in the back, and that was kind of my first option to pass to. Once they took that away, I just tried to put it in short side and was just able to get it over [Marc-Andre] Fleury. Excited just to get the win."
Said Blackhawks defenseman Calvin de Haan, "[Makar] is going to be a great player for a long time in this league. It is what it is. He made a good play and it's going to be all over the NHL Network tomorrow, but we did a pretty good job overall against him and against [Colorado's] top players. Those guys are some of the best players in the world, and they're going to get their chances. It's just about limiting them. It is what it is."

Erik Johnson scored two goals, Nazem Kadri had two assists, and Darcy Kuemper made 28 saves for Colorado (19-8-2), which is 8-1-1 in its past 10 games.
Alex DeBrincat scored twice, and Patrick Kane had two assists for Chicago (11-17-5), which is 0-2-3 in its past five games. Fleury made 29 saves in his first start since Dec. 17.
"That's a pretty good hockey team," Blackhawks coach Derek King said. "First period, I didn't think we were too bad, we just made some mistakes early, then we cleaned it up. I think we held our own with one of the top teams in the League."
Johnson gave the Avalanche a 1-0 lead at 7:43 of the first period, taking a pass from Kadri near the right point and scoring on a wrist shot through a screen.
Alex Newhook made it 2-0 at 13:54 when he skated in from the left circle and beat Fleury glove side with a backhand.

Jonathan Toews got the Blackhawks to within 2-1 at 4:47 of the second period. He outmuscled Samuel Girard for a loose puck in the crease after Kuemper sprawled to try and make a save on MacKenzie Entwistle.
Colorado got into penalty trouble early in the third period. Nathan MacKinnon was called for interference at 34 seconds, and Tyson Jost was assessed a minor for delay of game at 1:30.
On the ensuing 5-on-3 power play, DeBrincat tied it 2-2 when he beat Kuemper with a one-timer off a diagonal seam pass from Kane at 2:18. He then gave Chicago a 3-2 lead with his second power-play goal in 40 seconds, again taking a pass from Kane and scoring blocker side from near the right hash marks.
However, Johnson tied it 3-3 at 11:44 when his shot from along the right boards deflected in off the stick of Blackhawks defenseman Jake McCabe.
"The first one, just a nice, delayed pass from [Kadri], and I just took some space and tried to pick my corner, and there's a great screen by a couple of our guys, and it just found its way in," Johnson said. "Second one, I just tried to get it to the net. Got lucky on a deflection off their 'D.' I don't put the puck in the back of the net as much as I used to, but any time you can contribute and help the team get a victory like tonight where we played so, so good in the first and pretty average in the second and not very good in the third and found a way to get it done."

Toews had a chance to win it as time expired, but his shot glove side on a 2-on-1 was saved by Kuemper with 0.1 seconds left.
"Yeah, I mean, you want to score," Toews said. "You want to find a way to end the game there. Close one but yeah, you want those back when you feel like you can do something a little different. Hindsight's 20/20."
NOTES:Colorado defenseman Jack Johnson left the game in the first period after sustaining a lower-body injury. Coach Jared Bednar didn't have an update postgame. … Erik Johnson played in his 606th game with the Avalanche, passing Steven Finn for second among defensemen in Colorado/Quebec Nordiques history. Adam Foote is first with 967 games. … DeBrincat's second goal was his 20th this season.