Success in Sin City: Martin Necas Posts Goal, Three Points As Avalanche Defeats Golden Knights 4-2

Victorious in Vegas

Martin Necas posted a goal and two assists as Avalanche defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 at T-Mobile Arena on Friday. Brock Nelson, Brent Burns and Cale Makar each scored a goal for the Avalanche while Scott Wedgewood stopped 22 of the 24 shots he faced. Additionally, the Avs' penalty kill went five-for-six against Vegas' power play that entered the day with the second-best home percentage in the league (36.8%).

"I thought we handled ourselves pretty good," Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar said. "We get an early lead. Obviously it's a big start to the game and we're able to play with the lead most of the game. [The] second period got a little hairy with all the penalties but five-on-five I thought we did a nice job. They obviously pushed in the third period but then we were able to capitalize again. Good hard-fought game by both teams I think, and it's good to get the two points."

With the win, Colorado improved to 7-1-4 and is now tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins for the league's best points percentage (.750).

How It Happened

A day after signing an eight-year contract extension with the Avalanche, Necas opened the scoring 41 seconds into the first period with his eighth goal of the season via a left-circle one-timer set up by Cale Makar's cross-ice feed. That goal was the fatest Colorado goal to start a game since December 2, 2023, when they scored 36 seconds into the contest.

Just after killing a penalty, the Avalanche doubled its lead at 4:32 of the second period when Brock Nelson scored his third goal of the season on a breakaway after received Jack Drury's feed.

Tomas Hertl put Vegas on the board with a four-on-three power-play goal at 2:51 of the third period via a shot from the doorstep.

Burns gave the Avs a 3-1 lead with his first goal of the season at 10:11 of the third period via a shot from the high slot set up by Necas' feed. Necas began the play with an interception in the Avs' defensive zone, followed up by a rush up the ice, a spin-o-rama move and a saucer pass to Burns. With that goal, Burns posted his 916th NHL point and passed Bobby Orr for the 11th most among defensemen.

Mitch Marner made it a 3-2 game at 12:01 of the third period with a shot from the bottom of the right circle.

At 18:22 of the third period, Makar gave the Avs a 4-2 lead with his fourth goal of the season via a long-range empty-net tally.

Next Up

The Avalanche concludes its road trip against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday at 2 p.m. MT on Altitude, Altitude+ and Altitude Sports Radio 92.5 FM.