Avalanche use 4-goal 1st period to power past Senators

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon, Brock Nelson, Cale Makar and Joel Kiviranta all scored in Colorado's first-period barrage and the Avalanche cruised to a 5-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night.

Nelson finished with two goals — his first two since being acquired by Colorado from the New York Islanders — and Scott Wedgewood made 15 saves.

Wedgewood's shutout bid being ended by Dylan Cozens’ power-play goal with 4:41 left in the game.

The Avalanche chased Linus Ullmark from the game just 17:29 in after he allowed four goals on 13 shots.

It was the Senators’ second straight loss following a six-game winning streak.

Nelson scored his second of the night on the power play 1:54 into the middle frame after tipping Artturi Lehkonen's shot to beat Anton Forsberg, who allowed one goal on 19 shots in relief of Ullmark.

Takeaways

Senators: Cozens continues to shine since joining the Senators with points in six of his seven games (three goals, three assists).

Avalanche: Colorado had a slow first five minutes and then got going after MacKinnon’s opening goal.

Key moment

Ullmark struggled on Nelson’s first goal, a moment that seemed to drain the Senators’ momentum and sap their energy.

Key stat

Nine players in the NHL have 50-plus points and 100-plus hits. Ottawa’s Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle and Drake Batherson are three of them.

Up next

Senators: Head to New Jersey to take on the Devils on Saturday.

Avalanche: Travel to Montreal to take on the Canadiens on Saturday.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl