MacKinnon, Grubauer lift Avs to 4-1 win over Blues in Game 1

DENVER (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon scored the tiebreaking goal 30 seconds into the third period and later added an empty-netter, Philipp Grubauer stopped 22 shots and the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche beat the St. Louis Blues 4-1 in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series. Gabriel Landeskog also added a third-period goal by tipping in a blue-line blast from MacKinnon. Cale Makar got things started with a power-play goal in the first period. Game 2 is Wednesday. Jordan Kyrou scored his first postseason goal for a Blues team missing leading scorer David Perron, who’s out due to the NHL’s virus protocols.