DALLAS — Yep, these are the two best teams in the National Hockey League.

On a day where the Colorado Avalanche made a stunning last-second trade to re-acquire Nazem Kadri just before the trade deadline, the Dallas Stars scored four times in the first 22 minutes, but the visitors came all the way back for a wild 5-4 shootout win Friday night at American Airlines Center. The win puts the Avs seven points clear of the Stars at the top of the NHL standings, while Colorado also has a game in hand.

Valeri Nichushkin scored a 6-on-5 goal with 13.2 seconds to send this game to overtime. It was his 13th goal of the season, and just his second since scoring a hat trick on New Year’s Eve.

Martin Necas had a four-point night for the Avs, while Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and two assists.

The Avs did not have a good first period at 5-on-5, but the power play roared to life to keep them in it. Cale Makar scored on a wrister from the right circle at 3:33 of the first. It was the third great look of the man advantage, and Makar’s 19th goal of the season. MacKinnon picked up his 60th assist on the play.

MacKinnon scored in the final seconds of the period on a one-timer from Necas to give Colorado two power-play goals in the same game for the first time since Jan. 8 against Ottawa and only the sixth time all season.

In between the extra-man tallies, the Stars racked up a trio of goals. Miro Heiskanen tied the score with a power-play goal at 7:11 of the first. His shot from the top of the zone hit Avs defenseman Devon Toews just in front of Mackenzie Blackwood.

Wyatt Johnston’s first shot went wide left from the right circle, but he went into that corner, came back into the left circle and beat Blackwood with another try at 10:39 to put the Stars in front.

Blackwood gifted a goal to Justin Hryckowian and Dallas took a 3-1 lead. The goalie went behind the net to play the puck, but put it off Toews. When he tried to recover in front of the net, Blackwood got turned around and Hryckowian had a wide-open net to shoot at from the right circle.

Hryckowian created the fourth Dallas goal and ended Blackwood’s evening less than two minutes into the second period. He engaged with Josh Manson behind the Colorado net, created a turnover and fed Stars captain Jamie Benn in front for a goal from the edge of the crease at 1:52.

Scott Wedgewood replaced Blackwood after he allowed four goals on 11 shots.

Necas helped set up the first two Colorado goals, then he scored the third to bring the visitors back within one. MacKinnon slipped him the puck in the right circle, and he wired a wrist shot into the top-right corner for his 28th goal of the year. Necas now has six goals and 13 points in six games since the Olympic break, which came after he led Czechia with three goals and eight points in Milan.