Martin Necas' Two-Goal, Four-Point Game Leads Avalanche to 6-3 Victory Against Sabres

Success Against the Sabres

Martin Necas posted a pair of goals and two assists to help the Avalanche defeat the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday at Ball Arena. Artturi Lehkonen, Brock Nelson, Gavin Brindley and Gabriel Landeskog each scored a goal while Nathan MacKinnon tied Peter Stastny for the second-most points in franchise history (1,048) via an assist.

“We’re having fun," Necas said about the team's chemistry. "We really brought the team together. You guys see the part on the ice, but off the ice, it’s been great. It’s kind of the first step for us to be great on the ice.”

With its fifth-consecutive win, the Avalanche improved to 12-1-5.

How It Happened

Necas opened the scoring 52 seconds into the game with his 11th goal of the season on a breakaway set up by Cale Makar's stretch pass.

The Avalanche doubled its lead at 6:10 of the first period when Lehkonen scored his eighth goal of the season when he finished off a rebound from the low slot.

Bowen Byram put the Sabres on the board at 7:46 of the opening frame with a shot from the right doorstep.

Nelson gave the Avs a 3-1 lead at 9:46 of the first period with his fourth goal of the season via a shot from the low slot set up by Ross Colton's feed.

Buffalo cut its deficit in half at 13:28 of the first period when Jordan Greenway scored via a slap shot from the left slot.

At 19:07 of the opening frame, Gabriel Landeskog had a goal disallowed because of goaltender interference.

Tage Thompson tied the game with a power-play goat at 14:56 of the second period via a one-timer from the high slot.

At 16:22 of the middle frame, Brindley gave the Avs a 4-3 lead with his fourth goal of the season via a right-circle wrist shot.

“[It was] huge," Brindley said about his line scoring two goals. "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.”

Necas doubled Colorado's lead with his second goal of the game and 12th of the season at 16:53 of the third period via a shot from the slot set up by MacKinnon's feed.

The Avs took a 6-3 lead at 18:11 of the third period when Landeskog scored his second goal of the season via an empty-net tally set up by Necas, who passed up a chance at a hat trick to feed the Avs' captain.

Next Up

The Avalanche hosts the New York Islanders on Sunday at 7 p.m. MT on Altitude, Altitude+ and Altitude Sports Radio 92.5 FM.