Necas, Kelly each has 2 points, Avalanche defeat Mammoth

SALT LAKE CITY -- Martin Necas and Parker Kelly each had a goal and an assist for the Colorado Avalanche, who scored four times in the second period of a 4-2 win against the Utah Mammoth at Delta Center on Wednesday.

Brock Nelson and Victor Olofsson also scored, and Scott Wedgewood made 28 saves for the Avalanche (38-9-9), who have won three of their past four games.

“I thought it was all right. I think the guys played hard,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “They were committed to the way we want to play. There were some sloppy plays on both sides that led to some real good scoring chances for and against…Overall, I've got to say no passengers, so I have to be pretty happy with it.”

Nathan MacKinnon was not in the lineup for the Avalanche after playing in Team Canada’s 2-1 overtime loss to Team USA in the gold medal game of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 on Sunday. Bednar said he expects MacKinnon to play against the Minnesota Wild at home on Thursday.

Dylan Guenther scored twice, and Karel Vejmelka made 21 saves for the Mammoth (30-24-4), who had won two in a row.

“We played a good team, but I didn't like our grind. I didn't like our physicality,” Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. “I thought we didn't have the pace we should have in our zone and on the forecheck. I don't think we were the fastest team tonight, and that's what makes us special. We need to realize that and be much better next game.”

Logan Cooley had an assist in his return to the lineup for the Mammoth after missing the previous 28 games with a lower-body injury.

“Personally, it felt pretty good. It's good to be back out there with the guys,” Cooley said. “It's no fun sitting in the stands watching them. It kind of felt like a long journey. There was a lot of hard work that went into it…It felt good to be back, but now it kind of shifts to the team and how we need to be better.”

Nelson appeared to score for the Avalanche at 8:37 of the first period after tipping in a shot from Brent Burns, but the play was overturned after Utah successfully challenged for goaltender interference.

Kelly gave Colorado a 1-0 lead at 3:26 of the second period, firing a wrist shot past the blocker of Vejmelka.

“Obviously, we miss [MacKinnon] and he's a big part of our team, but we have a lot of guys who can step up and play important minutes,” Kelly said. “I think that's kind of just a test to next-man-up mentality, and it's kind of what's been going on all year.”

Olofsson made it 2-0 at 9:13, beating Vejmelka with a wrist shot off a pass from Sam Malinski.

Guenther’s power-play goal cut it to 2-1 at 10:49 when he sent a one-timer past the blocker of Wedgewood off a pass from Mikhail Sergachev.

“You haven't played for a while, so you want to make nice plays,” Guenther said. “You don't really have your A-game yet, so just playing your B-game solid, and I thought we did that better in the third.”

Nelson extended it to 3-1 at 12:20, scoring past Vejmelka with a one-timer off a pass from Gabriel Landeskog.

Guenther scored his second goal at 13:20 to cut it to 3-2 when he found a loose puck in the slot and beat Wedgewood blocker side.

Necas scored on the power play to make it 4-2 at 17:17 to make it 4-2, finishing glove side with a one-timer off a feed from Cale Makar.

“I felt like we had some good opportunities in the zone,” Makar said. “I think we just have to continue to build it…I really liked the patience that we showed tonight with the puck in the zone, especially good support.”

Brett Kulak played 19:03 of ice time in his Avalanche debut. The defenseman was acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins for defenseman Samuel Girard and a second-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft on Tuesday.

“For the most part he looked pretty comfortable in the structure of our game,” Bednar said. “I think he was someplace around 18, 19 minutes in his first game, which is good quality minutes against very skilled forwards, and he did a nice job.”

NOTES: Nelson recorded his fourth career 30-goal season and first with the Avalanche. Only six active U.S.-born players have more: Auston Matthews (nine), Kyle Connor (seven), Dylan Larkin (five), Jake Guentzel (five), Patrick Kane (five), Alex DeBrincat (five). … Guenther recorded his 10th multigoal game with the Mammoth, which is the most in franchise history. … Utah forward Michael Carcone did not play due to illness.