Cale Makar scored twice in a three-point game in his hometown and both Devon Toews and Jaden Schwartz notched a pair of goals to lead the visiting Colorado Avalanche to a 7-3 victory over the Calgary Flames on Thursday.
Nathan MacKinnon scored once and added two assists for the Avalanche, who have won three of four games to start the season.
Goaltender Scott Wedgewood made 26 saves to record the win in his 200th career game and Brett Kulak netted two assists.
Adam Klapka, Mikael Backlund and Kevin Bahl replied for the Flames, who have lost all four games to start the season by a combined score of 23-6, and sit at the bottom of the league standings.
Goalie Devin Cooley stopped 23 shots.
The Avalanche broke open the clash with a trio of goals in the second period. Toews broke the 1-1 tie at 6:45 of the middle frame by converting a point shot for his second of the night.
Makar doubled the league at 9:16 of the period by sliding home a shot from the right face-off dot, and MacKinnon made it a 4-1 clash a couple of minutes later when he converted a rocket of a one-timer from the high slot.
Makar extended the lead five minutes into the third period with another blistering point shot, and Schwartz added another at 6:34 to make it a 6-1 game. Rookie T.J. Hughes collected his first career point with an assist.
Backlund and Bahl tallied 71 seconds apart to give the hosts a jolt of life, but Schwartz posted his second of the game at 9:41 of the third period to round out the scoring.
The Avalanche have won 15 of the last 19 meetings with the Flames (15-1-3).
It was a one-sided final after the clubs traded first-period goals.
Toews opened the scoring with this first of the season at 15:54, converting a redirect of Makar’s shot-pass while parked in front of the net.
Klapka tied the clash less than two minutes later by using a toe-drag to elude the defender before ripping a shot off the post and into the net.
Jonathan Castagna, playing his first NHL game, recorded an assist on the tally.
Avalanche forward Logan O’Connor took a leave from the team after the sudden death of his father, Myles, a former NHLer who was a businessman in Calgary.
–Field Level Media
