Nelson scores twice in 2nd to help Islanders defeat Avalanche

DENVER -- Brock Nelson scored twice in the second period for the New York Islanders in a 6-2 win against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena on Monday.

Anders Lee, Kyle Palmieri, Anthony Duclair and Mathew Barzal also scored for the Islanders (1-1-1), who picked up their first win of the season in coach Patrick Roy’s return to Denver after coaching the Avalanche between 2013-2016.

“We've been playing very well defensively since the training camp and in exhibition games and the first two games,” Roy said. “I thought we maybe didn't start the way we wanted, but what I love is we kept our focus and we came back to score.

“I thought that we were resilient. We managed to stay focused and on our game.”

Ilya Sorokin made 32 saves in his first start of the season following offseason back surgery.

“I think it speaks to his athleticism and his ability for him to be able to jump in and get up to game speed right off the hop,” Lee said. “He had a great game tonight for us and made some huge saves with guys that put a lot of goals on this net.”

Calum Ritchie scored his first NHL goal for the Avalanche (0-3-0), who have lost three straight to start the season for the first time since 2008-09. Casey Mittelstadt also scored, and Alexandar Georgiev made 32 saves.

“There's no excuses. I didn't like our game tonight, top to bottom. It's terrible,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “I thought that was our worst defensive game of the three [this season] by a mile, not even close.

“On the outside you can look at the [recent scores], 8-4, 6-4. That’s horrible results, but there's a lot in both those games that I liked a lot, like a significant amount. And tonight, I'll have to go through it with a fine-tooth comb to find something I liked.”

Ritchie gave the Avalanche a 1-0 lead at 1:01 of the first period when Josh Manson found him alone at the left post for a tap-in.

Lee tied it 1-1 at 5:33, gathering his own rebound and stuffing it in at the right post.

Palmieri made it 2-1 at 18:13 when he picked off Manson’s clearing attempt at his own blue line, drove to the net around Georgiev’s poke check, and put the puck into an open net.

Nelson extended the lead to 3-1 at 8:25 of the second. He went around two Avalanche defensemen as he carried the puck into the offensive zone, switched to his forehand, and lifted the puck over an outstretched Georgiev.

“The goal that he scored, the first one he scored, it's going to be a highlight,” Roy said. “Everybody's going to see it. It was a great play by him. Great move in front of the goalie as well.”

He then made it 4-1 at 11:14 with a short-handed goal, winning the puck off Makar in the offensive zone, driving to the net, and scoring with a wrist shot.

“When he's at the top of his game, he's a difference maker every night,” Lee said. “First one, what a move, and then the second one, just the patience with his stick to kind of give him an option but not really, and then to finish it off. Great couple plays by him.”

Mittelstadt cut it to 4-2 just 39 seconds into the third period with a one-timer from the bottom of the right circle off a cross-crease pass from Nathan MacKinnon.

“Everybody's trying their best, but just got to find a way maybe to simplify the game a little bit and just not try [to make] too hard of plays because it seems like it's not working for us now,” Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen said. “We got to try to execute better. I feel like some of the goals against is execution, but it's hockey. I think we'll learn and try to get better.”

Duclair restored the three-goal lead at 6:48. He took a seam pass from Alexander Romanov at the right post, looped around the crease, and stuffed it in at the left post around Georgiev’s outstretched pad to make it 5-2.

Barzal scored an empty-net goal for the 6-2 final at 18:48.

NOTES: Ritchie became the ninth player in Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques history to score his first career goal at age 19 or younger. He also became the third teenager in Avalanche/Nordiques history to score within the opening 70 seconds of a game (Alex Tanguay, 0:22 on Oct. 8, 1999; Nathan MacKinnon, 0:53 on Jan. 6, 2015). … Mittelstadt has scored in each of Colorado’s opening three games, the first three-game goal streak of his NHL career. … Defensemen John Ludvig and Oliver Kylington each made his Avalanche debut. … Colorado defenseman Devon Toews didn’t play due to a lower-body injury.