Mikko Rantanen had two goals, Alexandar Georgiev had 31 saves for his third shutout of the season and 11th of his career, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Vegas Golden Knights 3-0 in Denver on Monday night.
Nathan MacKinnon also scored for the Avalanche, who have won six in a row and have points in eight straight.
Rantanen has goals in five straight games and MacKinnon recorded at least a point in the eighth consecutive game.
Colorado played its fourth straight game without reigning Norris Trophy winner Cale Makar.
Adin Hill turned away 31 of 33 shots for the Golden Knights, who have dropped two in a row but remain in first place in the Pacific Division, two points ahead of Los Angeles.
Both teams had players in the lineup who were acquired Sunday. Forward Ivan Barbashev came to Vegas in a deal with St. Louis and was on the first line with Jack Eichel and Jonathan Marchessault. New Avalanche defenseman Jack Johnson was in the third pairing after coming over from Chicago.
Johnson was part of Colorado’s Stanley Cup-winning team last season before signing with the Blackhawks in the offseason.
The Avalanche scored on their first shot for the third straight game, and they did it just 14 seconds after the opening faceoff.
Hill played the puck behind the net and tried to pass it up the zone. Rantanen batted it out of mid-air and wristed it in the goal before Hill could get back into the net. It was the fastest Colorado goal this year and is tied for the seventh fastest goal in franchise history.
The Avalanche got the first power play of the game at 13:34 of the second period. They didn’t cash in but Rantanen scored on a one-timer from J.T. Compher at 16:20 of the period to expand the lead.
It was his 40th of the season, the first time he has eclipsed the 40-goal mark.
Hill came off for an extra skater with 3:50 left and MacKinnon scored into the empty net 17 seconds later. It was his 22nd of the season.
–Field Level Media
