ST. LOUIS (AP) Nathan MacKinnon thought back to the Colorado Avalanche’s struggles last season and couldn’t help but chuckle.”We were out of the (playoff chase) with 30 games left Youth Dion Phaneuf Jersey ,” he said.Thanks in part to MacKinnon, it’s a much different story this season.MacKinnon had two goals and an assist, Semyon Varlamov stopped 44 shots and the Avalanche beat the St. Louis Blues 4-1 on Thursday night.Mikko Rantanen also scored twice and Gabriel Landeskog had three assists to help the Avalanche win their third straight to move into the first wild card spot in the Western Conference, one point ahead of idle Dallas – and five ahead of St. Louis. The Avalanche, who won 10 in a row from Dec. 29-Jan. 22, are 6-0-3 in their last nine games.”Right now every point matters, every point counts,” Varlamov said. ”Every game is like a playoff for us. This feels great just to be part of this.”Colorado finished with an NHL-worst 48 points last year, which makes this year’s turnaround even more enjoyable.”That’s a playoff-type game, as close as you get to the playoffs without getting in there,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. ”Our guys played with great urgency, commitment and intensity. You play like that – good things will happen to you.”Joel Edmundson scored for St. Louis, and Jake Allen finished with 19 saves. The Blues were coming off road wins at Los Angeles and Anaheim http://www.kingsproshop.com/authentic-drew-doughty-jersey , but couldn’t keep the momentum going at home where they fell to 20-15-0.”We definitely haven’t played our best at home,” Allen said.The Blues are now on the outside looking in as far as the playoff chase is concerned.”Absolutely we have lots of time, lots of hockey left to be played,” St. Louis center Brayden Schenn said. ”Obviously we’re going to need some help, but we have to do our part and get the wins.”MacKinnon scored twice in a span of 2:53 in the first period to give Colorado a 2-0 lead with just under seven minutes remaining. He has 11 goals and 13 assists in 13 games since returning from a shoulder injury on Feb. 18.MacKinnon, who leads the team with 35 goals, had his 24 multipoint game, the most by a Colorado player since Joe Sakic posted 28 in the 2006-07 season.”He’s playing great, one of the best players in the league right now,” Rantanen said. ”Speed is his thing. It’s fun to watch.”Edmundson pulled the Blues within one at 9:15 of the second with his seventh.Rantanen slipped a backhander past Allen with about 3 1/2 minutes left in the middle period, and added an empty-netter with 41 seconds to go in the third.NOTES: Nicole Hensley, a goalie on the gold-medal winning U.S. Olympic women’s hockey team, dropped the ceremonial first puck. Hensley played college hockey at Lindenwood University in nearby St. Charles. … Edmundson returned to the lineup after missing 13 games with fractured right forearm. The Blues were 4-7-2 without him. … Colorado’s string of eight successive games with a power-play goal came to a halt. It was the longest streak since Jan. 14-31 Dustin Brown Jersey , 2006. … The Blues have scored first in 38 of 71 games this season.UP NEXTAvalanche: Host Nashville on Friday night.Blues: Host the New York Rangers on Saturday night. Forward,聽Patrick Berglund, 30 years-old, has been suspended for an indefinite amount of time by the Buffalo Sabres after he apparently didn't manage to report to the team.According to CBC, the announcement was made on Sunday and it seems like it's going on indefinitely. It also occurred right before their game against the聽Washington Capitals. Alongside the announcement, the Buffalo Sabres said that there wouldn't be any comment or further information being provided at the moment. What this means is that there's some level of frustration on the entire team's side, especially since they now have a forward, that they pay, not doing his job.advertisingBerglund missed the past two games. While it's not entirely known why this happened, it may have been an illness since the head coach,聽Phil Housley, seemed to have described it as such. According to the Times Colonist, he said:聽"From my knowledge talking to the medical staff Womens Jake Muzzin Jersey , he was ill, so we handled it that way." Via TSNWhat might this mean forBerglund? Well, no one is sure just yet since it's still developing. However,聽this incident may not sit well with his record. He currently only has two goals and two assists within twenty-three games this season. Currently, he's got three years left on his contract with a salary cap of聽 $3.85 million US.advertisingThere's also the reality that running off like this could be in breach of his contract. If that is the case, the聽Sabres do have the ability to void the deal without providing aid in the salary cap area of things. It really isn't a good sight to see if it goes down this road. There could be a possibility of him not having that guarantee聽of money, but all this really depends on what is written in the contract.On top of all that, no one knows why he's not reporting to his team. Going AWOL can mean many things. Some people have speculated that this might be the cause of a mental illness but this cannot be confirmed. Hopefully, whatever his issue, it can be sorted out somehow.advertising