Rapid Recap: Avalanche 4, Blue Jackets 2

Cale Makar scored twice in the second period to give the Colorado Avalanche its first lead of the game and the Avs held on for a 4-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night at Pepsi Center.
Makar's two markers in a matter of 6:41 turned a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead as Colorado finished its two-game homestand with wins in each contest. The club improved to 10-5-2 (22 points) on the campaign.

Samuel Girard tallied the Avalanche's first goal that tied the game at 1-1 on a power play in the first period, and Nazem Kadri sealed the outing for Colorado with a slap shot that beat goaltender Joonas Korpisalo with 2:06 remaining in the third period. Kadri also had an assist in the contest.
Avs goaltender Pavel Francouz stopped 39 shots, including 23 in the last two periods after the Blue Jackets' Emil Bemstrom and Zach Werenski found twine in the first frame.
Tyson Jost finished with two assists, while Ryan Graves, Vladislav Kamenev and Matt Nieto also added helpers.
Statistics
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Photo Gallery
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Notes & Quotes
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Highlights
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Video: Coach Bednar Postgame

THE GOALS

1st Period
4:55 CBJ (0-1) - PPG, Emil Bemstrom was the recipient of a fortunate bounce as Seth Jones' shot was blocked by an Avs player but the puck went right to Bemstrom's stick before being fired into an open net.
15:06 COL (1-1) - PPG, Samuel Girard fired a slap shot from the left point that got through traffic and hit twine for his first goal of the season.
19:06 CBJ (1-2) - Zach Werenski's shot from the left circle deflected off goalie Pavel Francouz and trickled across the goal line near the post.
2nd Period
10:52 COL (2-2) - Cale Makar took a pass from Ryan Graves and unleashed a wrist shot that went over the shoulder of goalie Joonas Korpisalo and into the top right corner of the net.
16:11 COL (3-2) - Cale Makar received a pass from Tyson Jost on a 2-on-1 rush and fired the puck five-hole to give the Avs their first lead of the game.
3rd Period
17:54 COL (4-2) - Nazem Kadri fired a slap shot from the left circle that went short-side after stealing the puck in the neutral zone.
Final: Avalanche - 4 | Blue Jackets - 2

3 STARS

Selected by Colorado Hockey Coach of the Game: Jon Eng (Colorado Rampage)

POWER PLAYS

Colorado: 1 for 2
Columbus: 1 for 4

GOALTENDING BATTLE

Colorado: Pavel Francouz stopped 39-of-41 shots and didn't allow a goal after the first period. He was starting in back-to-back games for the first time in his NHL career.
Columbus: Joonas Korpisalo made 32 saves on 36 shots in the loss.

STAT OF THE NIGHT

Makar On The Mark: Cale Makar tallied twice for his first career multi-goal game and third multi-point contest. He is the first Avalanche rookie defenseman to score twice in an outing since the team moved to Denver in 1995. Overall he is the third first-year blueliner to accomplish the feat in franchise history, joining Quebec's Pierre Lacroix (Nov. 20, 1979 vs. Boston and Jan. 27, 1980 vs. Detroit) and Bruce Bell (Jan. 24, 1985 vs. Montreal).
Makar, 21, became the fourth defenseman in Avalanche/Nordiques franchise history to record a multi-goal game before his 22nd birthday, joining Bryan Fogarty (Dec. 1, 1990), Bell (Jan. 24, 1985) and Lacroix (Jan. 27, 1980 and Nov. 20, 1979). Makar is the 10th D-man in Avs history (since 1995-96) to score two goals in a period. His second tally ended up as the game-winner--his first regular-season, game-winning goal.
The Calgary, Alberta, native has now scored in back-to-back games for the first time in the NHL and is on a three-game point streak (three goals, three assists). He currently leads all league rookies with 17 points (four goals, 13 assists) in 17 games.
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NOTEBOOK

Joonas Donskoi appeared in his 300th career NHL game… Samuel Girard scored his first goal of the season… Vladislav Kamenev is on a career-high three-game assist/point streak after recording a helper on Girard's goal… Tyson Jost tied a career high with two assists (third time), his second multi-point game of the season… Nazem Kadri registered his third multi-point game of the campaign… Colorado improved to 5-0-2 against Eastern Conference squads this season… The Avs won a season-best 55 percent of their faceoffs… The Avs and Jackets were meeting in the first of two games this year. The clubs wrap up their season series on Feb. 8 in Columbus… The teams will play both of their games in 2020-21 in Helsinki, Finland, as part of the NHL Global Series.

QUOTABLE

Matt Calvert on winning both games of the homestand: "The hunger. I'm going to use that word again. We wanted it more. When you get in a slump, you start to stay on the perimeter in the O-zone and that's something we really talked about before the Nashville game, and we got guys to the net. We got guys burying their chances and like I said before, D are getting pucks to the net. So, it's been a lot of fun these two games and we are excited for this big roadie coming up."

BIG HIGHLIGHT

IMAGE OF THE GAME

Girard, Samuel? Present.

ROSTER REPORT

Jayson Megna was the Avalanche's lone healthy scratch. He was recalled from the American Hockey League's Colorado Eagles on Friday afternoon… Goaltender Pavel Francouz started in back-to-back games for the first time in his NHL career.

INJURY UPDATE

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare left with 2:45 left in the second period after taking a hit from Nick Foligno, who was assessed a five-minute major for charging and game misconduct. Bellemare did not return to the game, and head coach Jared Bednar did not have an update on the forward's condition afterward… Nikita Zadorov is week-to-week after having surgery on Friday to help repair his broken jaw, suffered on Thursday against Nashville… Gabriel Landeskog (out indefinitely), Philipp Grubauer (day-to-day), Mikko Rantanen (week-to-week) and Colin Wilson (day-to-day) all remain out with lower-body injuries.

UP NEXT

The Avalanche begins a five-game road trip through Western Canada and Minnesota on Tuesday at the Winnipeg Jets. It will be the first of four matchups between the division foes this season. Colorado will also play games at the Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames and Minnesota Wild on its Nov. 12-21 trip.

LINE COMBINATIONS

Based on start of the game
Forwards
72 Joonas Donskoi - 29 Nathan MacKinnon - 11 Matt Calvert
17 Tyson Jost - 91 Nazem Kadri - 37 J.T. Compher
83 Matt Nieto - 41 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - 13 Valeri Nichushkin
95 Andre Burakovksy - 81 Vladislav Kamenev - 36 T.J. Tynan
Defensemen
49 Samuel Girard - 6 Erik Johnson
27 Ryan Graves - 8 Cale Makar
28 Ian Cole - 44 Mark Barberio
Goaltenders
39 Pavel Francouz
30 Adam Werner