Nathan MacKinnon scored his NHL-leading 44th goal of the season and added three assists as the Colorado Avalanche swept away the host Seattle Kraken 5-1 Thursday night.
Martin Necas had a goal and an assist, while Nicolas Roy, Nazem Kadri and Joel Kiviranta also scored and Devon Toews added two assists for the league-leading Avalanche, who have won six of their past seven games. Goaltender Scott Wedgewood made 28 saves.
Ryker Evans scored for Seattle, which lost its fourth in a row to wrap up a six-game homestand and dropped out of the Western Conference’s second and final wild-card playoff spot. Joey Daccord was pulled after allowing three goals on 15 shots in the first period, with Philipp Grubauer stopping nine of 11 the rest of the way.
Necas opened the scoring 3:45 into the game, taking a nifty cross-slot pass from MacKinnon and lifting a shot over a sprawling Daccord from the top right of the crease.
MacKinnon inadvertently scored at 12:54 as his pass intended for Kadri went off the skate of Kraken defenseman Adam Larsson and into the net.
The Avalanche made it 3-0 on Roy’s power-play goal at 18:48. MacKinnon passed to Brock Nelson in the high slot, who nearly fanned on his shot. Instead, the puck trickled to Roy who was alone near the top left of the crease and he jammed it past Daccord before the goalie could react. It was Roy’s second goal in four games since being acquired a week earlier from Toronto.
The Kraken got on the board on defenseman Evans’ short-handed goal at 13:36 of the second. Chandler Stephenson stole a pass at center ice, skated over the blue line and fed Evans in the slot for a wrister into the upper right corner of the net.
The Avalanche restored their three-goal lead at 17:11 of the period as MacKinnon left a drop pass for Sam Malinski, whose shot from the right point was redirected past Grubauer by Kadri. It was Kadri’s first goal in three games since being reacquired from Calgary.
Kiviranta capped the scoring on a deflection at 12:41 of the third.
Forward Bobby McMann, whom the Kraken got from Toronto at last Friday’s trade deadline, had to sit again while waiting for his work visa to be processed.
