Martin Necas recorded a goal and two assists in his first game after signing an eight-year contract with Colorado, helping the Avalanche defeat the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 at T-Mobile Arena. Cale Makar added a goal and an assist, while Brent Burns scored his first goal with the team. Vegas has now lost three of their last four games.
The Colorado Avalanche improved to 7-1-4 with a 4-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday at T-Mobile Arena, snapping a four-game losing streak by winning their second straight. Martin Necas opened the scoring just 41 seconds into the first period, firing a one-timer off a cross-ice pass from Cale Makar to give Colorado a 1-0 lead. It marked Necas' debut following his eight-year contract extension signed Thursday.
In the second period, Brock Nelson extended the advantage to 2-0 at 4:32 on a breakaway, capitalizing on a miscommunication between Vegas' Ben Hutton and William Karlsson. Avalanche coach Jared Bednar praised Necas postgame, saying, “He was feeling it tonight.”
Vegas responded in the third, with Tomas Hertl cutting the deficit to 2-1 at 2:51 during a 4-on-3 power play, sliding the puck under Scott Wedgewood's pad. Brent Burns restored the two-goal lead at 10:11 with a wrist shot for his first goal since signing a one-year deal with Colorado on July 2, trailing the play to make it 3-1.
Mitch Marner pulled Vegas within one at 12:01 when his shot from the right side bounced off Burns into the net for a 3-2 score. Makar sealed the victory with an empty-net goal at 18:22. Wedgewood made 21 saves for Colorado, while Carl Lindbom stopped 22 shots in his second NHL game for Vegas (6-2-3).
Burns reflected on his goal: “It's funny how it worked out because in the first period [Necas and I] had a similar play, and I didn't jump in. He let me know about it, so it was good.” Bednar added, “It's another good game to measure ourselves against the other top teams in the League. We handled ourselves pretty good.”
Notes highlight Burns' milestones: his 43rd career game-winning goal tied Paul Coffey for fifth among defensemen, and his 916th point passed Bobby Orr for 11th all-time by a defenseman. Makar extended his road point streak to seven games with four goals and seven assists, the second-longest in franchise history behind Jeff Brown's mark with the Quebec Nordiques.