Avalanche score four straight to silence Blue Jackets

Goals by Cale Makar and Brock Nelson 72 seconds apart sparked the visiting Colorado Avalanche to a 4-1 comeback victory over the struggling Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday. Valeri Nichushkin scored twice for the Avalanche, who posted four unanswered goals to remain unbeaten in regulation (4-0-1). Goaltender Scott Wedgewood made 22 saves. Ivan Provorov was the goal-scorer for the Blue Jackets, who have only one victory and two points to show for their first four games. Goalie Elvis Merzlikins stopped 32 shots in a performance that went for naught. With his team trailing 1-0, Makar made his 400th game special when he found the mark from the high slot at 10:34 of the second period for his second goal of the season. The goal was the 118th of his career, the fifth-most by a defenseman through 400 games in NHL history — trailing only Bobby Orr (150 goals), Paul Coffey (148), Denis Potvin (128) and Ray Bourque (124). Makar added an assist. Nelson put the Avalanche ahead at 11:46 by redirecting a Brent Burns point shot through Merzlikins' legs for his first goal. Minutes after the Blue Jackets thought they had tied the clash only to have a goal waved off due to an offside call, Nichushkin made it a 3-1 lead. He set up at the doorstep and delivered another deflection goal with just 3.9 seconds remaining in the middle frame. The Blue Jackets had another possible goal disallowed due to a hand pass late in the third period, and then Nichushkin's empty-netter at the 18:07 mark sealed the result. Despite the Avalanche controlling play from the drop of the puck, Columbus opened the scoring when Provorov scored his first of the season 1:36 into the second period. –Field Level Media

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)