Avalanche 3, Rangers 2 (SO): Defenseman Tyson Barrie forged a tie with 52 seconds left in the third period before scoring the lone goal of the shootout in the first round as host Colorado seized its fifth consecutive victory.

Barrie skated in and used a series of moves before backhanding the puck over the right pad of Henrik Lundqvist (35 saves) to begin the shootout. Semyon Varlamov (29 saves) made a left pad save on Martin St. Louis' backhanded bid before denying Brad Richards with his right pad to end the contest.

Blue-liner Andre Benoit also scored for the Avalanche, who salvaged a split of the two-game season series and remained three points ahead of third-place Chicago in the Central Division. The Blackhawks posted a 3-2 shootout victory over Minnesota on Thursday.

Defenseman John Moore scored in his return from a six-game absence and Derek Stepan also tallied for the Rangers, who moved four points ahead of third-place Philadelphia in the Metropolitan Division despite suffering their second loss in nine contests. The Flyers dropped a 2-0 decision to Columbus on Thursday.

Breezing down the left wing on a 2-on-1 rush with Rick Nash, Stepan elected to keep the puck and wired a shot under the crossbar with 4 1/2 minutes remaining in the second period to give New York a 2-1 lead. The slim advantage held up until Barrie's wrist shot from the slot beat a screened Lundqvist with Varlamov pulled for an extra skater.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Moore was sidelined with concussion-like symptoms but returned to the lineup with fellow D Ryan McDonagh nursing an upper-body injury. ... Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog was whistled for three minor penalties and saw his four-game point streak come to a halt. He collected five goals and two assists during that stretch. ... Avalanche LW Cody McLeod suffered a lower-body injury in the second period and did not return.