Tag: denver7 colorado avalanche

DENVER (AP) — Josh Manson scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period and the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche beat the San Jose Sharks 4-2 in their final game before the Olympic break Wednesday night.

Artturi Lehkonen scored twice and Nathan MacKinnon had two assists for Colorado to reach another career milestone.

MacKinnon joined Joe Sakic as the only players in franchise history with 700 assists. Sakic, the team president, finished his career with 1,016.

Brock Nelson scored an empty-net goal, Valeri Nichushkin had three assists and Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 23 shots for the Avalanche.

Timothy Liljegren and Philippe Kurashev scored 2:51 apart early in the third to tie it for the Sharks. Yaroslav Askarov made 38 saves, but San Jose enters the three-week break on a four-game skid.

Manson broke the tie when his one-timer from the point got by a screened Askarov at 12:44. Askarov later went off for an extra skater, and Nelson scored his 29th goal at 18:43.

Colorado has stumbled since starting the season with just two regulation losses through the first 39 games. The Avs had gone 5-7-2 since Jan. 4 before beating San Jose and had their 11-point lead over Minnesota in the Central Division reduced to five.

Colorado, which has played three fewer games than the Wild, has 83 points heading into the Olympic break.

Lehkonen, who will play for Finland in Italy, gave the Avs a 1-0 lead early in the second after a battle in San Jose’s crease. The goal was upheld upon review, but his second and 19th of the season was a clean wrister from the right circle on MacKinnon’s 700th assist.

Liljegren scored his first goal of the season 43 seconds into the third period and Kurashev tied it at 3:34 when he scored his seventh.

Up next

Sharks: Host the Calgary Flames on Feb. 26.

Avalanche: Host the Minnesota Wild on Feb. 26.

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DENVER (AP) — Defenseman Josh Manson had two goals, two assists and a fight as the Colorado Avalanche beat Ottawa 8-2 on Thursday night for their seventh straight victory over the Senators.

Brock Nelson added two goals, and Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Martin Necas and Brent Burns also scored for the Avalanche to open a seven-game homestand. The Avalanche are 18-0-2 at Ball Arena this season.

Colorado tied a franchise record for goals in a period with six in the second. The last time Colorado scored that many during a period was Nov. 7, 2019, against Nashville in the second.

The game turned chippy in the third, with Ottawa’s Nick Cousins and Ridly Greig drawing misconduct penalties.

Manson got into a first-period fight with defenseman Tyler Kleven and moments after getting out of the penalty box scored the first goal of the game. He had an assist on Makar’s goal in the second period to complete the Gordie Howe hat trick. It was Manson’s first career two-goal game.

Scott Wedgewood finished with 29 saves to help the Avalanche snap a two-game slide.

Shane Pinto and Brady Tkachuk scored for a Senators team that lost 3-1 in Utah the night before.

The momentum swung when Ottawa appeared to make it a one-goal game in the second only to have the goal negated after Colorado successfully challenged for offside.

Starting Ottawa goaltender Leevi Merilainen was pulled early in the second after giving up his third goal. Backup Mads Sogaard surrendered five goals before Merilainen returned to the net for the third.

MacKinnon had a goal and three assists. It was his 312th multi-point game, trailing only Peter Stastny (313) and Joe Sakic (473) for most in franchise history.

Up next

Senators: Host Florida on Saturday night.

Avalanche: Host Columbus on Saturday.
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DENVER (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon scored twice, including his 400th career goal, and Valeri Nichushkin netted his second NHL hat trick as the Colorado Avalanche beat the St. Louis Blues 6-1 on Wednesday night for their ninth straight win.

MacKinnon became the third player in franchise history to reach 400 goals and first to score them all for the Avalanche. Joe Sakic had 625 goals, the first 233 coming with the Quebec Nordiques before the team moved to Colorado. Michel Goulet is second in club history with 456, all for Quebec.

MacKinnon, who added two assists, leads the NHL with 34 goals. His 70 points were tied with Edmonton star Connor McDavid for most in the league.

Nichushkin scored twice during a four-goal barrage in the first 4:39 of the game and finished with three goals. Brock Nelson scored later on a power play for Colorado, and Mackenzie Blackwood turned away 12 shots.

Colorado has won 15 straight at home, where it is 17-0-2, and has just two regulation losses (30-2-7) this season. The Avalanche’s 69 points tied the 1929-30 Boston Bruins for the most through 39 games.

Jordan Binnington allowed four goals on the first eight shots he faced and finished with 37 saves. Dalibor Dvorsky scored for St. Louis, which has dropped two straight. The Blues’ 13 shots on goal were a season low.

Nichushkin made it 1-0 a minute in, and MacKinnon scored his first of the game at 3:13. Nichushkin got his second of the night 13 seconds later, and MacKinnon’s slap shot 1:13 after that capped the early scoring.

It was the fastest four goals to start a game in franchise history and third in NHL history.

Nelson, who got his 300th career assist on Nichushkin’s first goal, scored midway through the game. Nichushkin scored 1:34 after Dvorsky spoiled Blackwood’s shutout bid with his sixth of the season.

Up next

Blues: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday night.

Avalanche: At the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night.

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DENVER (AP) — Brock Nelson had two goals and two assists to reach 600 points for his career, Gabriel Landeskog also scored twice, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Montreal Canadiens 7-2 on Saturday.

Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and two assists for Colorado to extend his NHL goals lead to 20 and his points lead to 44.

Colorado, which had its 10-game winning streak snapped with a shootout loss at Minnesota on Friday, has a 16-game point streak (13-0-3). The Avalanche have won eight in a row at home and have just one regulation loss in 25 games (18-1-6).

Brent Burns and Devon Toews also had goals for Colorado.

Ivan Demidov and Lane Hutson scored for Montreal, which had a three-game winning streak snapped.

Nelson got his milestone point when he beat Jakub Dobes with a wrister 7:32 into the game. He assisted on Landeskog’s first goal and Burns’ goal 50 seconds into the second before making it 4-0 at 3:55 of the second period.

Mackenzie Blackwood made 21 saves but fell short of his bid for a third consecutive shutout when Demidov scored at 8:27 of the second period. That ended a shutout streak of 174 minutes, 31 seconds.

Blackwood made several great saves early, including one with his left pad to deny Josh Anderson midway through the first period.

Dobes stopped 29 shots.

Nelson was initially awarded Colorado’s second goal but it was later given to Landeskog, who was upended by Anderson as they battled in the crease.

The Canadiens challenged for goaltender interference but it was ruled that Anderson’s actions caused the interference.

Colorado donned blue Quebec jerseys to commemorate the Nordiques’ Adams Division rivalry with Montreal. The Avalanche are celebrating their 30th season since relocating from Quebec to Denver.

Up next

Canadiens: Host Ottawa on Tuesday night.

Avalanche: Host Vancouver on Tuesday night.

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DENVER (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon scored his NHL-leading 18th goal, Mackenzie Blackwood stopped all 26 shots he faced and the red-hot Colorado Avalanche rolled past the San Jose Sharks 6-0 on Wednesday night for their 10th consecutive victory.

The Avalanche’s win streak is the longest by an NHL team this season and is tied for the second-longest in franchise history. They also extended their point streak to an NHL-high 14 games, with a 12-0-2 record in that time.

Artturi Lehkonen, Ross Colton, Sam Malinski, Josh Manson and Joel Kiviranta also scored for Colorado, which had three goals in 76 seconds in the second period to stretch its lead to 5-0.

The Avalanche recorded a shutout for the third-consecutive game, the first time they’ve done so since the 2001-02 season. They’ve gone 189 minutes and 17 seconds without allowing a goal. It was the second shutout in as many starts for Blackwood, who had given up 10 goals in his previous three appearances this season.

MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Martin Necas were among the nine Colorado players with an assist. Makar’s assist was his 21st of the season, the second-most in the NHL.

The Sharks were the last team the Avalanche had failed to beat, losing 3-2 in overtime against San Jose on Nov. 1.

Yaroslav Askarov was pulled from the game in the second period after giving up four goals on 19 shots. Nine seconds later, his replacement, Alex Nedeljkovic, allowed a goal on the first shot he faced.

In the shutout loss, Macklin Celebrini’s five-game point streak was snapped.

Up next

Avalanche: At Minnesota on Friday.

Sharks: Host Vancouver on Friday.

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Denver 7+ Colorado News Latest Headlines | November 27, 5am

DENVER (AP) — Jason Robertson and Mikko Rantanen scored shootout goals, Jake Oettinger stopped Nathan MacKinnon on Colorado’s final shot, and the Dallas Stars beat the Avalanche 5-4 on Saturday night.

Oettinger had 35 saves through overtime and two more in the shootout for Dallas, which spoiled a milestone night for Brent Burns, who had an assist for his first point in a Colorado sweater.

Burns became the eighth defenseman to play in 1,500 career games and he extended his ironman streak in the NHL at 928 games, the longest active one in the NHL and fourth longest in league history.

Thomas Harley had a goal and an assist and Nathan Bastian and Robertson scored 3:03 apart in the second period to give Dallas a 3-2 lead.

Rantanen helped eliminate his former team in Game 7 of the first round last spring with a third-period hat trick. He got the better of the Avalanche again, beating Scott Wedgewood for the deciding goal in the shootout.

Wedgewood stopped 18 shots and one in the shootout.

Saturday night had a playoff feel, with a fight, shoving matches and momentum swings throughout the night. Marty Necas and MacKinnon had a goal and two assists each for Colorado, but both were stopped by Oettinger in the shootout.

Artturi Lehkonen tied it 3-all 34 seconds into the third but Wyatt Johnston answered with a breakaway goal 1:24 later.

MacKinnon tied it with a power-play goal midway through the third period

Gavin Brindley gave Colorado a 2-1 lead midway through the second period with his first career goal after Necas had answered Harley’s goal with his third of the season.

Up next

Stars: Host the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night in their home opener.

Avalanche: On the road at the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night.

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

Denver 7+ Colorado News Latest Headlines | October 13, 7am

DENVER (AP) — Defenseman Erik Johnson announced his retirement Wednesday after a 17-season career that was highlighted by a 2022 Stanley Cup title with the Colorado Avalanche.

Picked No. 1 in the 2006 NHL draft by St. Louis, Johnson was traded to the Avalanche as part of a blockbuster deal in 2011. He played in 1,023 regular-season games with the Blues, Avalanche, Buffalo Sabres and Philadelphia Flyers.

He finished with 95 goals, 253 assists, 1,717 blocks and 1,695 hits. Johnson missed the 2008-09 season with the Blues after suffering a serious knee injury in a golf cart accident when his foot got stuck under the accelerator pedal.

“After 18 incredible years in the NHL, I am retiring with a heart full of gratitude,” Johnson said in a statement.

The 37-year-old Johnson has long been a fan favorite in Denver, where he spent 14 of his 17 seasons. His most iconic moment, though, may have taken place away from the ice. He led the crowd in the singing of “All the Small Things,” by Blink-182 after the parade to celebrate Colorado hoisting the Stanley Cup. It was the theme song that season.

In his statement, he thanked organizations, teammates, coaches, staff members, family, friends and, of course, the fans.

“Your passion made every moment unforgettable,” Johnson said.

After spending portions of 14 seasons in Colorado — 2011 to 2022-23, along with a return late last season — Johnson trails only Adam Foote (17) for most seasons among Avalanche/Nordiques blueliners. His 731 regular-season games in an Avalanche sweater are also second only to Foote (967) among the franchise’s defensemen.

The player known as “EJ” is first in franchise history in blocked shots (1,373) and third in hits (1,288) among defensemen. The Bloomington, Minnesota, product leaves the NHL rink 25th on the most games played list among American-born defenseman in league history.

His first NHL game was with St. Louis on Oct. 4, 2007, against the then-Phoenix Coyotes. He had an assist on a goal by Keith Tkachuk.

His last regular-season game was with Colorado on April 13 at Anaheim. He scored an empty-net goal. Johnson also played in two games in the first-round series against Dallas, where the Avalanche lost in seven.

“Hockey has been my life, and I’m grateful for every second,” Johnson said. “I’m excited for what’s next and will always cherish this journey.”

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