Rapid Recap: Avalanche 4, Senators 1

OTTAWA, Ontario--Cale Makar scored and added an assist in the Colorado Avalanche's 4-1 win against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday.
Valeri Nichushkin opened the game's scoring with his 10th goal of the season, but Brady Tkachuk tied the contest before the first intermission. Matt Nieto and Makar found the back of the net in the middle frame, while J.T. Compher extended Colorado's lead 3:38 into the third period.
Avs goaltender Philipp Grubauer stopped 25 shots in the contest, his third game in a row. The Avalanche is 5-1-0 in its last six games and 5-1-2 in its last eight contests.

It was the first meeting of the year between the Avs and Sens. They conclude their season series at Pepsi Center on Tuesday.
Statistics
|
Photo Gallery
|
Highlights
|
Watch: Coach Bednar Postgame

THE GOALS

1st Period
7:57 COL (1-0) - Andre Burakovsky found Valeri Nichsuhkin alone in the right circle after an Ottawa turnover and Nichsuhkin scored his 10th of the year.
19:10 OTT (1-1) - Brady Tkachuk tied the game with a wrist shot after he got past the Avalanche defense and skated into the offensive zone alone.
2nd Period
4:08 COL (2-1) - Matt Nieto scored with a one-timer off the rush to regain the lead for Colorado. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Tyson Jost assisted on the tally.
8:03 COL (3-1) - PPG, Cale Makar scored with a one-timer from the high slot after getting a pass from Mikko Rantanen.
3rd Period
3:38 COL (4-1) - J.T. Compher scored while on a 2-on-1 rush with Cale Makar. Makar recorded an assist on the tally to register his second point of the game, his eighth multi-point contest this year.
Final: Avalanche - 4 | Senators - 1

3 STARS

Selected by Molson

POWER PLAYS

Colorado: 1 for 1
Ottawa: 0 for 2

GOALTENDING BATTLE

Colorado: Philipp Gruabuer started for the third consecutive game and stopped 25 shots.
Ottawa: Marcus Hogberg made 30-of-34 saves.

STAT OF THE NIGHT

Matt Nieto recorded his third game-winning goal of the season, surpassing his career best of two game-winners during the 2013-14 season with San Jose.

NOTEBOOK

Andre Burakovsky had an assist to extend his point streak to six games, his longest of the season. Since the new year began, the forward has recorded 16 points (four goals, 12 assists) in 12 games... Burakovsky's 23 assists on the year equal his career high from 2016-17 with Washington...Valeri Nichsuhkin had a goal and Mikko Rantanen added an assist to extend their respective point streaks. Nichushkin has recorded one goal and four assists in three games, while Rantanen has scored twice and registered four helpers in a five-game span… Rantanen has eight points (one goal, seven assists) in seven games versus Ottawa in his career… Nathan MacKinnon has 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 13 career games against the Senators...Cale Makar scored his 12th goal of the season and added an assist to increase his season total to 40 points (12 goals, 28 assists), retaking the rookie scoring lead from Vancouver's Quinn Hughes... Colorado and Ottawa conclude their season series at Pepsi Center on Tuesday... The Avalanche is 14-5-3 against Eastern Conference opponents this season and owns a 16-9-2 record on the road this season, the third-most road victories in the NHL and the best road record in the Western Conference.

QUOTABLE

Forward Nathan MacKinnon on the game: "We had a good start, I thought we deserved a few more than one in the first. Like I said, good start, followed it up. We only had one power play and made the most of it, and a lot of guys had good games tonight."

BIG HIGHLIGHT

IMAGE OF THE GAME

Chu Chu Train

ROSTER REPORT

The Avalanche used the same players it did in its last game but mixed up the combinations among its bottom six forwards to start the game. J.T. Compher centered Matt Calvert and Joonas Donskoi, while Pierre-Edouard Bellemare was on a trio with Tyson Jost and Matt Nieto… Philipp Grubauer started for the third consecutive game while Vladislav Kamenev and Calle Rosen were the healthy scratches... The Avs sent Mark Barberio to the American Hockey League's Colorado Eagles for a conditioning assignment on Wednesday.

INJURY UPDATE

Colin Wilson (lower body) remains out while rehabbing after undergoing two surgeries earlier this season.

UP NEXT

The Avs open their ninth back-to-back set of the season at the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday. They finish the series of games, and their five-game road trip, at the Minnesota Wild on Sunday.

LINE COMBINATIONS

Based on start of the game
Forwards
92 Gabriel Landeskog - 29 Nathan MacKinnon - 96 Mikko Rantanen
13 Valeri Nichushkin - 91 Nazem Kadri - 95 Andre Burakovsky
11 Matt Calvert - 37 J.T. Compher - 72 Joonas Donskoi
83 Matt Nieto - 41 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - 17 Tyson Jost
Defensemen
27 Ryan Graves - 8 Cale Makar
49 Samuel Girard - 6 Erik Johnson
16 Nikita Zadorov - 28 Ian Cole
Goaltenders
31 Philipp Grubauer
39 Pavel Francouz