ANAHEIM — This Colorado Avalanche team still has the juice. Playing for the second consecutive night and fifth time in seven days, the Avs traveled down I-5 and completed a sweep of the Southern California teams with an impressive 5-1 win against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center. Cale Makar had t hree points, Parker Kelly scored twice, Scott Wedgewood made 27 saves and Nathan MacKinnon reached the century mark in the victory. The Avs, who limped into the 2026 Winter Olympics break with six wins in 15 games (6-7-2) just went 4-1 during the most grueling stretch of their schedule this year. “I would have been like, ‘I hope so,’ ” Makar said when asked what he would have said a week ago about going 4-1 to start the stretch run. “We’ve got some fresh legs coming out of the break. Obviously, it’s not ideal to go five in seven, but I liked the compete through all the games for the guys.” The Ducks had won 12 of 14 games to climb into second place in the Pacific Division. They were on normal rest. The Avs rolled anyway. Colorado had three road games against teams either in a playoff spot or fighting for one. The Avs won all three. “I think to be at the top of your game for 82 is very hard to do, let alone 60 minutes,” Wedgewood said of the pre-break funk. “After kind of seeing where we went wrong and the analytics showed what we were doing, we addressed it, and we’ve kind of been back on that top-tier push that we’ve been on since the start of the year.” This was the last game before the 2026 trade deadline, which is Friday afternoon — a few hours before the league-leading Avs will face second-place Dallas in North Texas. Both teams could look different by then. ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 03: Ross Colton #20 congratulates Cale Makar #8 of the Colorado Avalanche after his goal during the first period of a game against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center on March 03, 2026 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) “We’re going to get some rest after that five in seven with all the travel,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “We’re going to try and be as energized and ready to go as we can be for Dallas. That’s our focus. Management worries about the rest.” Makar gave the Avs the lead with his 18th goal of the season at 11:33 of the opening period. Brock Nelson made a slick pass to get Makar free in the right circle. His attempted centering pass as he skated towards the net didn’t pan out, but he swooped around the cage, picked up the puck again and then froze Ryan Pehling with a juke move before snapping a shot past Anaheim goalie Lukas Dostal. Martin Necas made it a two-goal advantage less than three minutes later. MacKinnon drew a tripping penalty, and the Avs’ top power-play unit made it count. Nelson sent a diagonal pass from near the right corner out to Necas at the top of the left circle, and he hammered a one-timer off the crossbar and in behind Dostal, his Czechia Olympic teammate, at 14:05 of the first. That’s 27 goals for Necas this season in 57 games, which matches his total from last year and is one shy of his career-best effort in 2022-23. He’s also on pace for 99 points, which would blow past his career high of 83, which he set in 2023-24. Cutter Gauthier cut Colorado’s lead in half at 4:50 of the second period. The Ducks thought they scored at 2:30, but a goal was wiped off the board because Chris Kreider had collided with Wedgewood’s arm/shoulder at the top of the crease just before the puck went in. The goal was waived off and Kreider went to the box for goaltender interference. The ensuing power play did not go well for the visitors, and then Gauthier fired home a one-timer from Jackson Lacombe 20 seconds after the penalty expired. Parker Kelly’s career year kept rolling late in the middle period. Makar fed him the puck at the top of the left circle, and Kelly wired a long-distance wrist shot past Dostal at 15:03. That was No. 14 for Kelly. He added No. 15 in the third period to make it a 5-1 advantage. Kelly’s career-best output before this season was eight goals, each of the previous two seasons. “Yeah, I don’t know. Things are going in,” Kelly said. “My linemates have been great this year. … Credit to all of them. I’m just getting a little bit lucky as well, as I’ve said before. Things are just going in. It’s one of those years, I guess.” Related Articles Avalanche GM Chris MacFarland on looming trade deadline: ‘We’re going to leave no stone unturned’ Devon Toews’ late goal helps Avalanche fend off pesky Kings in 4-2 win Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon on his Olympic experience: ‘Nothing but good memories’ Meet the Colorado athletes leading Team USA sled hockey in chase for 5th straight Paralympic gold Kim Weiss is breaking barriers with the Colorado Eagles: ‘She’s the glue’ Captain Gabe Landeskog scored for the second straight night to make it a three-goal lead at 4:35 of the third period. MacKinnon carried the puck into the offensive zone on a rush, and Landeskog blasted a one-timer past Dostal. That assist was the 100th point of the season for MacKinnon. It’s his fourth straight 100-point campaign. He’s currently on pace for 137, just shy of the 140 he had in his MVP season two years ago. This was Makar’s fifth game with three or more points this season, but his first since Jan. 8. He’s got three goals and six points during this three-game streak and has had dominant underlying numbers. He’s got some work to do down the stretch if he’s going to win the Norris Trophy for the third time in his career. “There was a significant amount of maturity from the group and focus coming into this stretch,” Bednar said. “Now we’re through it and getting ready for one of the biggest games of the year.” FOOTNOTE: Avs forward Artturi Lehkonen (upper body) is out week-to-week, a team spokesman said before the game. Lehkonen left the game Monday night in the first period in Los Angeles. Want more Avalanche news? Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis. ...read more read less