The Colorado Avalanche has a new dynamic duo, and they lit up the Calgary Flames on Thursday night.
Nathan MacKinnon had three assists, while his new linemate Martin Necas had two goals and an assist to help the Avalanche shrug off a slow start before rolling past the Flames, 4-2, at Scotiabank Saddledome.
Necas now has three goals and eight points in seven games since the blockbuster trade that brought him to the Avs from the Carolina Hurricanes.
“Great players all around,” Necas said. “I feel like we kind of know our roles on the line and that’s always important. We’re building on each game and trying to find more and more chemistry.”
It wasn’t a great first period, but Colorado’s second was one of its best 20-minute efforts of the season.
The Avalanche scored three times and outshot the Flames 17-4 despite spending four minutes killing off two mostly feckless Calgary power plays. MacKinnon assisted on all three goals, regaining the NHL scoring lead after losing it Wednesday for the first time in almost two months (Dec. 9).
“I was happy to see it after the first,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “It was a good period. I thought our leadership group did a nice job of getting the guys back on track, because the first period was ugly. Then all of a sudden it was a complete turnaround in the second.”
Calgary native Cale Makar tied the game 80 seconds into the second with a shot from above the right circle. It was Makar’s 20th goal of the season.
That’s the third 20-goal season of his career, making him one of eight defensemen in NHL history to have three such seasons in the first six of his career. That list includes Ray Bourque, Paul Coffey and Dennis Potvin.
“When you look at those names, those were the guys I grew up watching. They were my idols,” Bednar said. “To be coaching a guy doing all the same things and hitting all those lists … I think it’s pretty special. He’s going to be one of the best all-time when it’s all said and done.”
Artturi Lehkonen swept home the rebound of a MacKinnon shot off the crossbar at 5:34. It was Lehkonen’s 22nd goal of the year, which establishes a new career-best for him.
Another MacKinnon shot led to Colorado’s third goal late in the period. Necas got the shaft of his stick on a shot from the left circle for a power-play goal with 18 seconds remaining.
He made it a 4-1 advantage 12:53 into the third period. The Avs were pinned in their own end for the first time in a long while, but Sam Malinski made a beautiful bank pass from behind his net to Necas beyond the center red line. Necas went in alone and snapped another past Calgary goalie Dustin Wolf.
“It was a little bit unintentional,” Malinski, who was filling in for an injured Josh Manson on the second pairing, said of his tape-to-tape pass. “I just wanted to make sure I got it off the wall hard enough. I did not see Marty all the way up there, to be honest. Just a little luck there.”
The Avs put themselves in a hole early by taking two penalties before the game was three minutes old. Samuel Girard was called for an iffy hooking penalty that Jonathan Huberdeau sold very well, but the issue was compounded when Calvin de Haan backhanded the puck into the seats 59 seconds later.
Calgary passed the puck around for 30 seconds of the 5-on-3 before Huberdeau snapped a shot past Mackenzie Blackwood through a screen at 3:22 of the first.
Colorado had some turnover issues, and at one point Calgary had 10 shots on goal in less than 13 minutes. The Avs settled down after that, and thought they had an equalizer in the final minute. Malinski beat Wolf with a wrist shot off the crossbar and in, but Jonathan Drouin was offsides and the goal was wiped off the scoreboard after a coach’s challenge.
The only misstep by Colorado’s top line came in the waning moments. Both MacKinnon and Necas passed up the chance to shoot at the empty net from near center ice because they were trying to feed each other.
“I get (MacKinnon) kicking it back, but I think you’d rather shoot it in the net and put the game on ice,” Bednar said. “We’ve done that a couple times recently, but I get that is just (MacKinnon) being unselfish and trying to get his new linemate a hat trick.”
FOOTNOTE: Manson did not play after leaving the game Tuesday night in Vancouver with an injury. Bednar said he wont’ play Friday in Edmonton, but hopes to have him back when the Avs play in Nashville after the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off break.
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