Cale Makar goal shot Vegas Golden Knights 2021 March 25

J.T. Compher, Gabriel Landeskog and Cale Makar all had a goal and an assist as the Colorado Avalanche earned a 5-1 win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday at Ball Arena.
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Joonas Donskoi also scored for the Avs. Devon Toews, Samuel Girard, Logan O'Connor and Mikko Rantanen all registered a helper in the victory. Goalie Philipp Grubauer made 18 saves.
Colorado extended its points streak to nine games (8-0-1). The squad is 13-4-1 at home this year and 12-2-2 in its last 16 overall.

Max Pacioretty scored Vegas' lone goal of the game 40 seconds after the opening faceoff and netminder Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 27 shots.
Colorado is now 3-2-0 against Vegas this season. The clubs will meet again on Saturday for an afternooon affair at Ball Arena.

THE GOALS

1st Period
0:40 VGK (0-1) - Max Pacioretty scored the first goal of the game after skating past Colorado's defenders.
2nd Period
4:04 COL (1-1) - PPG, As a fluttering puck hit the ice, Joonas Donskoi batted it into the back of the net.
9:15 COL (2-1) - J.T. Compher cut toward the cage from below the left circle and scored short-side with a backhander.
12:37 COL (3-1) - Cale Makar skated into the offensive zone with speed and scored five-hole after taking a pass from Logan O'Connor at the blue line.
15:41 COL (4-1) - Gabriel Landeskog put home the rebound from a Cale Makar shot that was also deflected by Mikko Rantanen.
3rd Period
3:54 COL (5-1) - Pierre-Edouard Bellemare scored after receiving a pass from J.T. Compher on the rush.
Final: Avalanche - 5 | Golden Knights - 1

POWER PLAYS

Colorado:1 for 4
Vegas: 0 for 1

GOALTENDING BATTLE

Colorado: Philipp Grubauer stopped 18 of the 19 shots he faced.
Vegas: Marc-Andre Fleury allowed five goals on 32 shots.

STAT OF THE NIGHT

Gabriel Landeskog had a goal and an assist to pass Alex Tanguay (488) for eighth place in franchise history and fifth in Avalanche history in scoring (489). Landeskog has totaled 209 goals and 280 assists in his career since entering the league in 2011-12 with Colorado.
He also extended his point streak to seven contests (four goals, nine assists) and his assist streak to a career-high seven games (nine).

NOTEBOOK

Mikko Rantanen extended his point streak to eight contests (seven goals, seven assists). His goal streak ended at five games (six goals)... Cale Makar had a goal and an assist to record his fourth multi-point game of the year… J.T. Compher scored and added a helper to register his first multi-point outing of the season... Philipp Grubauer was playing in his 100th game as a member of the Avalanche while defenseman Samuel Girard was skating in his 250th contest with Colorado… The Avalanche's franchise record streak of consecutive periods with a goal ended at 20 straight frames when Colorado did not find the back of the net in the first period. The 20-period stretch surpassed the previous mark of 18, which was set by the Avs from Nov. 6-16, 1996… Colorado has picked up a least a point for nine consecutive contests (8-0-1) and is 12-2-2 in its last 16 overall... Nicolas Roy found the back of the net at 14:36 of the 3rd period, but Colorado challenged it for offside. The play was determined to be offside; it was the first time the Avalanche has used a coach's challenge this season... Colorado's penalty kill went 1-for-1 and has allowed just two power-play goals in the last nine games (25/27, 92.6%)... Jared Bednar passed Marc Crawford (165) for third place in franchise history in wins. Bednar owns a 166-144-38 career record as Colorado's head coach... Colorado is 13-4-1 at home this year. The Avs are in the midst of a stretch that finds them playing 15-of-17 in Denver. They will continue their current six-game homestand on Saturday against Vegas.

BIG HIGHLIGHT

VGK@COL Makar scores on breakaway to make it 3-1

IMAGE OF THE GAME

Boulder Strong

Bowen Byram Boulder Strong Jerseys warmup Vegas Golden Knights 2021 March 25

ROSTER REPORT

After missing the last game with an injury, rookie defenseman Bowen Byram returned to the lineup and began the game on a pairing with Ryan Graves. J.T. Compher was also back in game action, skating on a line with Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Logan O'Connor. The other forward trios and defensive pairings were the same as Colorado's previous game. Prior to the game, the Avalanche reassigned Conor Timmins to the American Hockey League's Colorado Eagles.

INJURY UPDATE

Matt Calvert missed the game with "nagging injuries" while Bowen Byram returned from his one-game absence with a lower-body injury. Pavel Francouz (lower body) and Erik Johnson (upper body) remain out long term.

UP NEXT

Colorado and Vegas wrap up their two-game set with a matinee matchup at Ball Arena on Saturday. Puck drop is set for 1 p.m. MT.

LINE COMBINATIONS

Based on start of the game
Forwards
92 Gabriel Landeskog - 29 Nathan MacKinnon - 96 Mikko Rantanen
20 Brandon Saad - 91 Nazem Kadri - 95 Andre Burakovsky
13 Valeri Nichushkin - 17 Tyson Jost - 72 Joonas Donskoi
37 J.T. Compher - 41 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - 25 Logan O'Connor
Defensemen
7 Devon Toews - 8 Cale Makar
34 Jacob MacDonald - 49 Samuel Girard
27 Ryan Graves - 4 Bowen Byram
Goaltenders
31 Philipp Grubauer
35 Jonas Johansson