NHL Roundup: Avalanche Take Western Conference Lead, Ducks Welcome Back Gibson
Avalanche vs. Golden Knights Highlights
The NHL featured three games on Friday without any shutouts or overtime. In Anaheim, fans saw a reunion with their former long-time goalie.
Colorado's Martin Necas scored one goal and provided two assists after signing an eight-year extension on Thursday. He opened the scoring just 41 seconds into the game.
- Brock Nelson increased the Avalanche's lead to 2-0 in the second period.
- Vegas responded with Tomas Hertl scoring on a power play, narrowing the score.
- Brent Burns scored his first goal of the season, assisted by Necas, making it 3-1 for Colorado.
- Mitch Marner quickly answered for Vegas, cutting the lead to 3-2 in the third period.
- Necas helped set up Cale Makar's empty-net goal, sealing the Avalanche's second straight win.
With the win, Colorado leads the Western Conference with an 18-point record of 7-1-4, while Vegas falls to 6-2-3 (15 points).
Islanders vs. Capitals Recap
After Tom Wilson put the Capitals on the board first, the New York Islanders scored three consecutive goals to secure a win.
- Jean-Gabriel Pageau opened scoring for New York with a short-handed goal before the end of the first period.
- Bo Horvat extended the lead with his seventh goal of the season.
- Matthew Barzal, recently benched for "personal reasons," sealed the game with an empty-net goal.
The win marks the Capitals' third loss in their last five games.
"Matthew Barzal, who was benched recently by head coach Patrick Roy for 'personal reasons', scored the empty-netter to gift the Caps their third loss in the past five games."
Author's summary: Martin Necas led the Avalanche to the top of the Western Conference with a goal and two assists, while the Islanders overcame the Capitals’ early lead with three straight goals.