The Anaheim Ducks’ only shot on goal in the third period was an empty-netter. A fitting ending, if not result.

The Colorado Avalanche created a chorus of pings off the goal posts but failed to get one inside them until the final minutes. A penalty call then impeded the push for an equalizer and the visitors settled for a 3-1 loss Sunday.

The Avalanche split each of their first three two-game series.

Anaheim goaltender John Gibson made 32 saves. The Avalanche outshot the team they beat 3-2 in overtime on Friday, 33-15.

“It’s frustrating for sure,” Avalanche goal-scorer Mikko Rantanen said. “I think we played a pretty good game. We had so many chances to score.

“Got to give credit to the goalie obviously, but I think we could have done some things in the (offensive) zone better. Just get more bodies in front of Gibson.”

It looked like Gibson might never allow one. The Ducks got lucky, particularly early. Cale Makar had a wide-open chance that went bar-down, landed in the crease and rolled away.

“Unfortunately for us, we just had no luck tonight, whether it was goa posts or whatnot,” Makar said.

“Obviously it’s a loss. We don’t want to lose.”

With 5:14 left in the game, the Avalanche broke through. Nathan MacKinnon’s rebound found Rantanen, who flicked it in from close quarters. Rantanen has scored in five straight games.

Gabriel Landeskog was whistled for holding a minute after the goal, so Philipp Grubauer (12 saves) had to stay in the net and the extra attacker remained on the bench.

Fifty-eight seconds into the game, Adam Henrique won a faceoff back to Jakob Silfverberg, who whipped a shot over Grubauer’s shoulder. On the second goal, which came midway through the second period, Rickard Rakell slipped in behind the defense and scored. Hampus Lindholm added the empty-netter.

After the game, coach Jared Bednar seemed to have little issue with how it went down.

“They were working hard tonight. I loved our work ethic,” Bednar said. “I thought we competed in all areas of the game.”

Forward Andre Burakovsky returned to the lineup and played 13:16. The Colorado power play went 0 for 4.

The Avalanche wrapped up a four-game road swing through California. They will return home to host the Sharks on Tuesday and Thursday.

“You’re going to have those nights where you run into a goaltender or you run into a team that makes outstanding defensive plays,” Bednar said.

“Maybe we could have placed our shots in some better locations on the net, but when it comes to that, we’re talking about splitting hairs. … If we keep continuing to do what we did tonight, we’ll score some goals.”