New York Islanders (10-6-2) @ Colorado Avalanche (12-1-5)
7 p.m. MT | Ball Arena | Watch: Altitude, Altitude+ | Listen: Altitude Sports Radio (92.5 FM)
The Avalanche continues its homestand against the New York Islanders for Hockey Fights Cancer Night, presented by UCHealth. This is the first of two regular-season meetings between the teams, as they’ll play in Elmont, New York, on December 4th.
Latest Result (COL): BUF 3, COL 6
Latest Result (NYI): NYI 3, UTA 2 (OT)
Beat Buffalo
Martin Necas scored two goals and added a pair of assists to help the Avalanche defeat the Buffalo Sabres 6-3 at Ball Arena on Thursday and record its fifth-consecutive victory. Artturi Lehkonen, Brock Nelson, Gavin Brindley and Gabriel Landeskog each scored for Colorado while Nathan MacKinnon tied Peter Stastny for the second-most points (1,048) in franchise history. Necas opened the scoring 52 seconds into the game with his 11th goal of the season via a breakaway set up by Cale Makar’s stretch pass. This was the third time this season that Necas scored in the opening minute of a game, which is the most by a player in a single season in franchise history. Lehkonen doubled Colorado’s lead at 6:10 of the opening frame with his eighth goal of the season and his fourth tally in his last three games when he cleaned up a rebound from the low slot. Bowen Byram put the Sabres on the board at 7:47 of the first period via a shot from the right doorstep. Nelson gave the Avs a 3-1 lead at 9:46 of the opening frame with his fourth goal of the season via a shot from the low slot set up by Ross Colton’s feed. Jordan Greenway made it 3-2 with a shot from the left slot at 13:28 of the first period. The Sabres tied the game when Tage Thompson scored a power-play goal via a one-timer from the high slot at 14:56 of the middle frame. At 16:22 of the middle frame, Brindley scored his fourth goal of the season via a right-circle wrists shot off the rush. Necas doubled Colorado’s lead with his 12th goal of the season at 16:53 of the third period via a one-timer from the slot set up by MacKinnon’s feed. At 18:11 of the third period, Landeskog scored his second goal of the season via an empty-net tally after receiving a pass from Necas, who passed up a chance at a hat trick so his Captain could score another regular-season tally.
Leading the Way
Nate the Great
MacKinnon leads the NHL in points (33) and goals (14) while ranking second in assists (19).
All Hail Cale
Makar leads NHL defensemen in points (18) and assists (24) while ranking second in goals (6). Among all skaters, he’s tied for third in assists and tied for ninth in points.
Marty Party
Necas is tied for third in the NHL in goals (12) and tied for ninth in points (24).
Series History
In 44 previous regular-season games against the Islanders, the Avalanche has a record of 23-17-4.
Success in Salt Lake City
In the first period, New York’s Emil Heineman opened the scoring at 7:13 before JJ Peterka tied the game at 13:02 and Dylan Guenther gave the Mammoth a 2-1 lead via a power-play goal at 18:35. In the third period, Jonathan Drouin tied the game for the Islanders at 13:44. Matthew Schaefer scored the game-winning goal at 2:06 of overtime to give the Islanders a 3-2 victory.
Scoring Mad Points Against the Islanders
In 21 games against the Islanders, MacKinnon has posted 26 points (10g/16a).
Makar has registered 15 points (3g/12a) in 10 contests against the Islanders.
In 17 games against New York, Landeskog recorded 14 points (8g/6a).
Long Island’s Leaders
Bo Horvat leads the Islanders in points (23) and goals (12) while being tied for first in assists (11).
Schaefer is tied for second on the team in points (15), third in goals (7) and tied for fourth in assists (8).
Mathew Barzal is tied for second on the Islanders in points (15), third in assists (10) and tied for fifth in goals (5).
A Numbers Game
901
Nelson played in 901 regular-season games for the Islanders and posted 574 points (295g/279a). In 78 playoff contests for New York, Nelson recorded 50 points (27g/23a). Sunday will be Nelson’s first game against his former team.
11
Colorado leads the NHL with 11 regulation victories.
667
MacKinnon has posted 667 assists and is one away from tying Stastny for the second-most in franchise history.
Quote That Left a Mark
“[It was] huge. You need that scoring. We were fortunate enough to get that tonight. It was a big part of the win and [I’m] happy we could get two points.”
-- Gavin Brindley on his line scoring two goals on Thursday against the Sabres
