Dylan Guenther had two goals and an assist, Vladislav Kolyachonok and Kevin Stenlund also scored and the Utah Hockey Club beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-1 in Denver on Thursday night.
Karel Vejmelka turned away 23 shots and Logan Cooley had two assists for Utah, which has won five straight road games.
Nathan MacKinnon scored Colorado’s lone goal and Scott Wedgewood made 19 saves in his first home start for the Avalanche. Wedgewood was acquired from the Nashville Predators on Nov. 30.
Utah jumped out in front at 8:26 of the first. Guenther tried to feed Cooley as he crashed the net, but Guenther’s pass from the right boards deflected off Artturi Lehkonen’s right skate and by Wedgewood. Guenther was credited with the goal.
In the second period, the visitors scored goals 1:47 apart. Kolyachonok made it 2-0 when his shot from the top of the right circle got by Wedgewood at 8:05.
Givani Smith, who came to Colorado from the San Jose Sharks in a Monday trade, received an unsportsmanlike conduct minor, and it took nine seconds for Utah to cash in. Nick Schmaltz sent a pass through the slot to Guenther, whose one-timer beat Wedgewood at 9:52.
It was his 12th goal of the season.
The Avalanche turned up the pressure after that. Guenther’s double minor late in the second wiped out a Utah power play. Colorado nearly scored in the final minute when Cale Makar’s shot trickled through Vejmelka and was sitting in the crease, but it was cleared away before it crossed the line.
Wedgewood came off for an extra skater late in the third and MacKinnon scored his 11th goal at 15:26. Stenlund shot into an empty net 23 seconds later to seal it. It was Stenlund’s fifth score of the season.
Wedgewood was pulled again, but Colorado could not get another one by Vejmelka, who just missed out on his first shutout of the season.
–Field Level Media
