Nathan MacKinnon produced a goal and three assists to power the Colorado Avalanche to a 6-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday at Ball Arena.
Colorado built an early lead with two goals in the opening six minutes of play. Devon Toews scored on a wrist shot 1:08 into the first period with assists from Martin Necas and MacKinnon. Nazem Kadri added his first goal of the season at 5:52 on a power-play snap shot set up by T.J. Hughes and MacKinnon. Just 24 seconds into the second period, Fedor Svechkov batted in a pass from Jaden Schwartz to make it 3-0.
Tampa Bay answered at 8:13 of the second period when Jake Guentzel converted a power-play snap shot. Artturi Lehkonen restored Colorado's three-goal edge at 13:57 off feeds from MacKinnon and Toews. Guentzel struck again with an even-strength snap shot at 19:17 to cut the deficit to 4-2, but MacKinnon buried a wrist shot 4:18 into the third period. Charle-Edouard D'Astous pulled Tampa Bay within two at 15:13 before Necas sealed the result on an empty-net wrist shot assisted by Gabriel Landeskog at 17:19.
Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 31 of 34 shots to earn the win for the Avalanche. Andrei Vasilevskiy took the loss for Tampa Bay after making 18 saves on 23 shots. Colorado finished 1 for 3 on the power play, while Tampa Bay converted 1 of 5 opportunities.
The victory improved Colorado to 6-4-1 on the season, while Tampa Bay moved to 7-3-0. MacKinnon led all skaters with his four-point performance, while Necas finished with three points on one goal and two assists.
Both teams continue their schedules on the road. The Lightning visit the Utah Mammoth on Saturday, and the Avalanche visit the Nashville Predators on Sunday.
