DENVER (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon had two goals and an assist to reach 1,100 career points and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Washington Capitals 5-2 on Monday.

Parker Kelly, Victor Olofsson and Artturi Lehkonen also scored to help Colorado bounce back from a 7-3 loss to Nashville on Friday night — the Avalanche’s first home regulation loss of the season.

MacKinnon joined Hall of Famer Joe Sakic as the only players in franchise history to reach 1,100 points. Scott Wedgewood made 22 saves, including several big ones in the third before Colorado scored two late goals.

Jakob Chychrun and Ethen Frank scored for the Capitals in the opener of a six-game trip. Alex Ovechkin added an assist to give him 1,665 points. He's four away from tying Wayne Gretzky for the fifth-most in NHL history by a player with one franchise (Gretzky had 1,669 with Edmonton in the NHL, and another 104 with the Oilers in the WHA).

Charlie Lindgren stopped 38 shots.

Cale Makar scored in the third period but it was disallowed after Washington challenged for goaltender interference. While jostling in front of the net, Martin Necas , who had two assists, knocked the stick away from Charlie Lindgren.

In the first period, Wedgewood was called for a tripping penalty when he lost his stick after Anthony Beauvillier rushed past him while chasing a puck. Beauvillier then appeared to trip on Wedgewood’s stick behind the net.

The banged-up Avalanche lost another player when Valeri Nichushkin was ruled out with an upper-body injury. After the game, coach Jared Bednar said Nichushkin was involved in a car accident on his way to the game. Bednar said Nichushkin was checked out at the rink and suffered minor injuries but that “everything seems to be OK.”

Colorado finished 1 for 6 on the power play.

Kelly opened the scoring 5:54 into the game, with Makar setting up the play for his 40th assist. Alex Barré-Boulet, who was just called up from the Colorado Eagles of the American Hockey League, also had an assist.

Up next

Capitals: At Vancouver on Wednesday night.

Avalanche: Host Anaheim on Wednesday night.

Nichushkin in car accident before game, held out of 5-2 win over Capitals as precaution, coach says

DENVER (AP) — Colorado forward Valeri Nichushkin was involved in a car accident on his way to the rink Monday and was held out of the Avalanche's 5-2 victory over Washington as a precaution.

Coach Jared Bednar said after the game that Nichushkin got checked out at the facility and suffered minor injuries but that “everything seems to be OK.”

“Just not good enough to play tonight,” Bednar said. “We’ll see what tomorrow brings for him.”

Bednar didn't have much information other than saying the roads were icy after an overnight snowfall and that it was a multi-vehicle accident.

“It was a fender bender, but serious enough to keep him out of lineup,” Bednar said. “I’m sorry, I don’t know all the details.”

Nichushkin missed eight games this season with a lower-body injury. He has 11 goals and 16 assists.

The 30-year-old Nichushkin drew a suspension of at least six months in May 2024 and placed in Stage 3 of the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program. The announcement came in the middle of Colorado’s playoff run that year, marking the second straight postseason where the right winger was unavailable because of circumstances away from the ice.

He played in just 43 games last season but was still fifth on the team with 21 goals. It was the third 20-goal season of his career.

With Nichushkin being a late scratch, Colorado quickly placed a call to forward Alex Barré-Boulet, who plays for the Colorado Eagles of the American Hockey League. Barré-Boulet made the drive down from Loveland, Colorado — about 60 miles — in time for the game and had an assist on the opening goal by Parker Kelly.

It was Barré-Boulet's first NHL point since 2023-24 with Tampa Bay.

Colorado is already missing Gabriel Landeskog (upper body), defenseman Devon Toews (upper) and forward Joel Kiviranta (forward). Forward Logan O’Connor has yet to play this season as he recovers from offseason hip surgery.

At 34-5-8, the Avalanche have the best record in the NHL. They're paced by the scoring prowess of Nathan MacKinnon, who had two goals against the Capitals to give him a league-best 38 this season. He also had an assist to reach 1,100 career points, joining Hall of Famer Joe Sakic as the only players in franchise history to reach that milestone.

“He's had a hell of a career to this point, and there’s no signs of him slowing down,” Bednar said of MacKinnon. “I’m sure he’s well on his way to another however many points he’s going to get.”

Broncos defense must carry team again as backup QB Stidham set to start AFC championship game

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Denver’s defense carried Peyton Manning across the finish line in Super Bowl 50 and Vance Joseph's bunch will almost certainly have to lead the way for the Broncos to get back to Levi's Stadium in the San Francisco Bay Area for Super Bowl 60.

The Broncos (15-3) host the New England Patriots (16-3) in the AFC championship game Sunday with a journeyman backup QB making his first start in more than two years, a tattered receiving group and little ground game to speak of unless J.K. Dobbins somehow returns from a mid-November foot operation.

A person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press that the Broncos are opening the practice window for Dobbins, whose injury was originally suspected to be season-ending, giving the Broncos a chance to get him back Sunday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team didn't announce the move.

Bo Nix broke his right ankle on Denver's game-winning drive in overtime as the Broncos wrestled their biggest win in a decade from Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills with a 33-30 thriller that sent both tears and barbs flowing in the Bills locker room.

Jarrett Stidham, who has appeared in 20 games in six NFL seasons, starting four and winning one, will step in for Nix, who's undergoing surgery Tuesday in Birmingham, Alabama. Save for the preseason, Stidham hasn't started a game — or even thrown a pass — in more than two years.

“He will be ready to go and ready for the moment,” coach Sean Payton said.

Because Nix's injury wasn't announced until an hour after the game and the locker room had already closed, Monday provided the first chance for teammates to comment on Nix's injury and their quarterback situation.

“First of all, obviously incredibly heartbreaking for Bo,” right tackle Mike McGlinchey said. "He's worked his butt off to get here. He's led this team every step of the way ever since he got in this building. ... In terms of Stiddy, I think I'm also going to hammer home the confidence that Sean put out there because being around Stiddy for the last three years now ... this guy just loves football. And he's been absorbing everything that we've been doing. He's been ready for this opportunity.”

All-Pro defensive lineman Zach Allen echoed those sentiments, saying, “Bo is a huge part of us getting to this point so we feel terrible for him ... but we have full faith in Stiddy,” whom he said shows up first every day and always tested the defense in practice, “so we’re excited to see what he does this week.”

As far as Dobbins' possible return, McGlinchey called him “a huge energy piece for our team,” and said, "It would be a great boost if he's healthy.”

Stidham almost certainly won't have two of the Broncos' best receivers after Troy Franklin pulled a hamstring and Pat Bryant suffered his second concussion in a month during the Broncos' first playoff victory since Super Bowl 50.

What’s working

Denver’s defense heeded Payton's edict ahead of the playoffs to produce more takeaways after the Broncos were minus-3 in turnover differential during the season despite an NFL-leading and franchise-record 68 sacks. They forced the Bills into five turnovers.

What needs help

The Broncos' ground game was almost nonexistent against the Bills with Nix leading the way with 29 yards on a dozen carries. Jaleel McLaughlin had 21 yards on four rushes and rookie R.J. Harvey had 20 yards on six handoffs.

Stock up

OLB Nik Bonitto had a strip-sack and forced both of Allen's fumbles. He became just the third Denver defender to force multiple fumbles in a playoff game, joining LB Tom Jackson and OLB Von Miller. Safety and All-Pro special teams ace Devon Key recovered James Cooks' fumble, P.J. Locke saved a touchdown with an interception and Ja'Quan McMillian's interception when he wrested the ball from Brandin Cooks in overtime set up the Broncos' game-winning drive that ended with Wil Lutz's chip-shot field goal. Talanoa Hufanga and Malcolm Roach recovered Allen's fumbles that were forced by Bonitto.

Stock down

Denver's rushing attack — but Dobbins provides a glimmer of hope.

Injuries

Bryant suffered his second concussion in a month. He had three catches for 32 yards on Denver's opening drive Saturday before leaving the game with the head injury. Franklin pulled a hamstring early in the game and had no targets.

Key stats

— 4 field goals by Lutz in four chances, tied for second most by a Broncos kicker in the team’s playoff history, behind only Brandon McManus’ five field goals against Pittsburgh following the 2015 season. Lutz also made all three of his extra points.

— 3 TD passes from Nix against the league's No. 1 pass defense tied John Elway and Manning for most touchdown throws in a Broncos playoff game. Elway did it three times and Manning did it against Baltimore following the 2012 season.

Next steps

The Broncos host the Patriots, who have lost all four of their playoff games in Denver, for the right to play either the Seattle Seahawks (15-3) or Los Angeles Rams (14-5) in the Super Bowl on Feb. 8.

Stidham set to join Staubach, Reich and 4 other QBs to make first start of season in playoffs

Bo Nix's broken ankle has placed Jarrett Stidham into most unusual territory.

After throwing no passes and taking four offensive snaps all season, Stidham will now take over as starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos in the AFC title game against New England on Sunday.

Stidham hasn't thrown a pass in a regular-season or playoff game since starting the final two contests in 2023, getting his only action in practice and the preseason since then.

According to Sportradar, Stidham will be the seventh quarterback since starts began being tracked in 1950 to start a playoff game in a season when he didn't start in the regular season.

Frank Reich was the only one of those six QBs to win as a fill-in when he won two starts for Buffalo in the 1992 playoffs in place of Jim Kelly.

Stidham will join Joe Webb as the only QB to start a playoff game after not throwing a pass in the regular season and the second to make his first start in the conference title game or Super Bowl. Roger Staubach made his first start in the 1972 season in the NFC title game for Dallas the year after winning Super Bowl MVP.

Here's a look at the six QBs who started a playoff game in a season when they had no regular-season starts:

Taylor Heinicke, 2020 Washington

Heinicke had bounced around the NFL for more than five years when he signed to Washington's practice squad late in the 2020 season. He replaced Dwayne Haskins late in a Week 16 loss but reverted to a backup role the following week for Alex Smith.

Smith won the finale to clinch a playoff berth with a 7-9 record but was unavailable for the wild-card round because of a calf injury. Heinicke stepped in and made his second career start, throwing for 306 yards and a touchdown in a loss to eventual Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay.

Connor Cook, 2016 Raiders

A promising season for the Raiders ended in disappointment in 2016. Derek Carr led the team to its first playoff berth in 14 years but broke his leg in Week 16. Matt McGloin started the season finale but got hurt, setting the stage for rookie Connor Cook to make his first career start in a wild-card game at Houston.

Cook went 18 for 45 for 161 yards with one TD and three interceptions in a 27-14 loss to the Texans and never appeared in an NFL game again.

Joe Webb, 2012 Vikings

Webb played only three offensive snaps — one fewer than Stidham this season — when he was called on to start the wild-card game against Green Bay when Christian Ponder went down with an elbow injury.

Webb had started two games in 2010 but hadn't thrown a single pass in 2012 before the game against the Packers. He went 11 for 30 for 180 yards with one TD and one INT in a 24-10 loss.

Frank Reich, 1992 Bills

After Jim Kelly hurt his knee in the season finale, Reich got the nod for the wild-card game against Houston and delivered a memorable performance.

Buffalo fell into a 35-3 hole early in the third quarter before Reich engineered the biggest comeback in playoff history. He threw four TD passes to lead the Bills to a 41-38 overtime win. Reich followed that up with a win the next week at Pittsburgh before Kelly returned for an AFC title game win against Pittsburgh.

Gary Danielson, 1983 Lions

After starting all 16 games in 1980 for Detroit, Danielson split time the next two seasons with Eric Hipple. Danielson got benched for Hipple for a playoff game in 1982 after leading the team to a win in the finale to clinch a playoff berth.

Hipple then started all 16 games in 1983 with Danielson coming off the bench 10 times to throw 113 passes and seven TDs. But Hipple hurt his knee in the season finale and Danielson made his first start of the 1983 season in the divisional round against San Francisco.

The results were rough as Danielson threw five interceptions — including four in the first half — but still almost came out with a win. Joe Montana threw a go-ahead TD pass to Freddie Solomon with 1:23 to play to make it 24-23. Danielson led Detroit into field goal range only for Eddie Murray to miss a 43-yard field goal in the closing seconds.

Roger Staubach, 1972 Cowboys

Staubach had led Dallas to a Super Bowl title in the 1971 season but separated his shoulder in a preseason game. Craig Morton took over as starter and kept the job even when Staubach was healthy again late in the season.

But coach Tom Landry went to Staubach in the divisional round with Dallas trailing 28-13 and he engineered one of the biggest playoff comebacks ever. Staubach threw two TDs in the final 90 seconds to help the Cowboys win 30-28 and advance to the NFC title game.

Staubach then got his first start since winning Super Bowl MVP the previous season but struggled in a 26-3 loss to Washington.

Coach Bill Self doesn't travel with No. 19 Kansas after going to the hospital, school says

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas coach Bill Self did not accompany the Jayhawks to Boulder for their game Tuesday night at Colorado after being taken to a hospital in Lawrence on Monday, the school said.

Kansas' athletic department said in a statement that Self was feeling under the weather and went to the hospital out of an abundance of caution. Self felt better after receiving IV fluids, the school said.

It was not immediately clear if Self would attempt to travel for the game or if an assistant would run the bench for the 19th-ranked Jayhawks.

Self, 63, missed the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments in 2023 because of a heart condition, getting a standard catheterization and having two stents inserted to help treat blocked arteries. He had two more stents inserted in July.

Now in his 23rd season, Self led Kansas to national titles in 2008 and 2022 and is the program's career wins leader with a 609-156 record. Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017, the former Oklahoma State player also coached at Oral Roberts, Tulsa and Illinois.