Colorado comes into this game off of a thrilling win over the New York Rangers, which saw Artturi Lehkonen end the game for the Avs in regulation with just seconds left in the thi

The Colorado Avalanche pulled off a huge trade Friday, but they may not be done dealing. Here are three NHL veterans the Avs can pursue as they remain all-in.

Martin Necas had two assists, nearly scored twice himself and excelled on the top line. Jack Drury scored a goal and centered a new-look depth line while all 12 Avs forwards played more than 10 minutes, a departure from the usual top-heavy distribution.

Makar scored again to give Colorado a 3-2 lead at 14:36 of the period with the Avs on the power play. Necas reversed the puck from the right side of the ice to the left, then MacKinnon set up Makar at the top of the zone for his 18th goal of the season.

The Colorado Avalanche shocked the hockey world on Friday night, making a blockbuster trade with the Carolina Hurricanes, using the Chicago Blackhawks to broker salary retention.

The Colorado Avalanche (28-20-2) will face the New York Rangers (24-20-4) for the second and final time in the regular season on Sunday afternoon. Puck drop is scheduled for 11:08 a.m. MT at Madison Square Garden.

As NHLRumors.com has documented, Avalanche General Manager Chris MacFarland has been busy reshaping this roster. It started with the goaltending, bringing in Scott Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood. Even with the upgrades in the goaltending position, the Avalanche felt they did a couple of seasons ago before they got Nazem Kadri.

The massive, three-team trade sending Mikko Rantanen to Carolina could have been very different. Both J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson were in rumours involving the Hurricanes leading up to this week.

Mittelstadt notched an assist in Saturday's 3-1 loss to the Bruins. Mittelstadt remains the second-line center for now, but things could change. The Avalanche are thin down the middle, but their trade that sent Mikko Rantanen to Carolina freed up cap space that could allow them to add a top-six forward.

Here are our Mikko Rantanen trade grades for the Blackhawks, Avalanche, and Hurricanes after Friday's stunning deal.

On Friday night, as many expected would happen, a Western Conference team traded away one of their top offensive players in a blockbuster deal. But contrary to expectations, that team was not the Vancouver Canucks.