Cale Makar was denied a hat trick Sunday afternoon. He won the game for the Colorado Avalanche anyway. Makar came out of the penalty box, picked off a pass and set up Artturi Lehkonen with 14.7 seconds in the third period for the winning goal in a wild 5-4 victory for the Avs against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

The loss leaves the Rangers (24-21-4) three points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning (26-19-3), who hold the second wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference; the Bolts are even in points with the Columbus Blue Jackets (24-19-7) but have two games in hand. They are four points behind the Boston Bruins (25-20-6), who own the first wild card.