NHL roundup: Cale Makar returns to lead Avs past Coyotes

Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar collected a goal and two assists each, J.T. Compher also had a goal and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Arizona Coyotes 3-1 on Friday in Denver.

Alexandar Georgiev turned away 17 shots and Valeri Nichushkin had two assists for Colorado. The Avalanche moved within two points of Central Division-leader Dallas with a game in hand on the Stars.

Clayton Keller scored and Karel Vejmelka had 27 saves for Arizona.

Colorado got stronger on the back end with the return of defensemen Makar and Erik Johnson. Makar had missed the previous two games with a lower-body injury, and Johnson was out for 19 games with a broken ankle sustained at Florida on Feb. 11.

Sabres 5, Devils 4

Alex Tuch scored twice in the second period for host Buffalo Sabres, which withstood a third-period rally by Jack Hughes and New Jersey.

Dylan Cozens, Tage Thompson and Jack Quinn scored in the first for the Sabres, who snapped a four-game losing streak. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 27 saves for the win.

Yegor Sharangovich and Kevin Bahl scored in the first and Hughes twice in the third for the Devils, who lost for the fifth time in six games (1-3-2) and missed a chance to clinch their first playoff berth since 2018. Goalie Akira Schmid was chased after allowing three goals on seven shots. Vitek Vanecek recorded 17 saves in relief.

Blue Jackets 5, Islanders 4 (OT)

Boone Jenner deflected a Johnny Gaudreau shot for a game-winning power play goal just 40 seconds into overtime as Columbus edged visiting New York.

Gaudreau scored earlier on a power-play and rookie Kent Johnson added a trick goal to highlight a four-goal, second-period explosion for the Blue Jackets, who won their second straight overtime contest. Michael Hutchinson stopped 34 shots.

Brock Nelson scored twice, including the game-tying goal in the third, but the Islanders saw their three-game winning streak come to an end. Ilya Sorokin made 22 saves in the loss.