MacKinnon put the Avalanche in front 2-1 at 4:06 of the third period. Shortly after Varlamov stopped a point-blank one-timer from Mikko Rantanen, MacKinnon scored with his own one-timer from the right circle.
J.T. Compher then gave Colorado a 3-1 lead at 6:34.
Makar scored his 20th of the season to extend the lead to 4-1 at 7:41, shooting into an open net off a backdoor feed from MacKinnon, and Devon Toews skated in all alone behind Anthony Beauvillier to push it to 5-1 at 8:27.
"I loved our game from the drop of the puck until the 5-1 lead, it's that simple," Bednar said. "I thought we were doing a great job getting back above pucks, 'D' gaps were great, turning pucks in transition quickly the whole night, dangerous on the offensive side of things.
"They made a strong push following our push at the start of the third, so it ends up closer than what we would have liked for sure, but lots of positives to take out of that game for me."
Lee's second power-play goal of the game made it 5-2 at 11:58.
Casey Cizikas scored 1:30 later to cut it to 5-3, and Brock Nelson scored with 27 seconds left and Varlamov pulled for the extra skater for the 5-4 final.
"Varly gave us every chance to win that game tonight," Cizikas said. "He played unbelievable. He made some incredible saves and we let him down. We let him down big time."
NOTES: Makar has 19 points (two goals, 17 assists) during his point streak. He also has an assist in 12 straight games, tying Joe Sakic for the Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques record. … Colorado has not lost three in a row since Oct. 16-21. … With two assists, Kadri has 23 multipoint games this season, trailing Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers (28) and Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs (25) for the most in the NHL. … Lee returned after missing a 2-1 win against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday for personal reasons. It was his first three-point game since Feb. 23, 2020. … New York center Mathew Barzal (lower body) and defenseman Zdeno Chara (upper body) each missed his fifth straight game.