"Avs Dominate Blues with 4 Goals in First Period and Shutout Victory: NHL Recap"
Jonathan Drouin recorded a pair of goals and added one assist, Martin Necas notched his first goal with the Colorado Avalanche, and the team scored four times in the opening period to secure a 5-0 victory over the St. Louis Blues in Denver on Friday night.
Mackenzie Blackwood made 19 saves to earn his first shutout with Colorado and second of the season. Cale Makar and Joel Kiviranta also found the back of the net, while Necas and Jack Drury had successful debuts with the Avalanche.
Necas and Drury were acquired by Colorado on January 24 in a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes, with the Avalanche sending their leading goal scorer Mikko Rantanen to Carolina.
Joel Hofer turned away 31 shots for the St. Louis Blues, who have now lost four consecutive games. The Blues have only won one of their last six games.
In other NHL action on Friday night, the Dallas Stars defeated the Vancouver Canucks 5-3.
Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz each had three-point performances, with both players scoring twice to lead the Stars to victory at home. Oskar Back also contributed a goal, while goaltender Jake Oettinger made 26 saves, including some key stops in the first two periods.
The Canucks, who had won their previous three games, saw their winning streak come to an end after trading away impact forward J.T. Miller earlier in the day. Goalie Thatcher Demko stopped 11 shots in the loss.
The Buffalo Sabres also secured a win on Friday, defeating the Nashville Predators 4-3.
Rookie Jiri Kulich scored twice for the Sabres, including the game-winning goal with just over two minutes remaining in the third period. Buffalo had initially taken a 2-0 lead before allowing Nashville to tie the game. Sabres star Tage Thompson recorded two assists, while goalie Justus Annunen made 23 saves for the Predators.
In Salt Lake City, the Columbus Blue Jackets overcame a 2-0 deficit in the third period to defeat the Utah Hockey Club 3-2 in overtime.
Zach Werenski scored the game-winning goal just over a minute into the extra period, finishing off a two-on-none breakaway with Cole Sillinger. Kirill Marchenko and Kent Johnson also scored for the Blue Jackets, while Daniil Tarasov made 31 saves in the win. Nick Schmaltz and Alexander Kerfoot scored for Utah, with Clayton Keller recording two assists and Karel Vejmelka making 20 saves in the loss.
