Mikko Rantanen and Valeri Nichushkin had a goal and an assist each, and Gabriel Landeskog and Nazem Kadri also scored as the Colorado Avalanche beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-1 in Denver on Sunday night.
Darcy Kuemper stopped 30 shots to lead the Avalanche to their 10th straight win. Colorado has won 18 straight home games.
For the Sabres, Dylan Cozens scored and Dustin Tokarski had 32 saves.
The Avalanche went ahead in the first period when Rantanen had the puck along the end boards and slid a diagonal pass to Landeskog in front of the net. Landeskog tipped it by Tokarski to give Colorado a 1-0 lead at 7:49.
It was Landeskog’s 19th goal of the season.
The game stayed that way into the second period when Buffalo capitalized on an Avalanche turnover. Colorado won a faceoff at its own end, but Jeff Skinner stole the puck behind the net, fed Cozens in front of the crease, and he jammed it by Kuemper at 2:37 of the second.
It was his 11th goal of the season.
The Avalanche went back ahead just over halfway through the second when Kadri buried a loose puck with Tokarski prone on the ice at 11:15. It was Kadri’s 18th goal and gives him 59 points this season, the third-best total in the NHL.
The Sabres challenged the goal, but it was upheld upon review, and Buffalo was given a two-minute minor for an unsuccessful challenge. Rantanen made them pay when he scored on a power play at 13:03.
It was Rantanen’s team-leading 23rd goal of the season.
The Avalanche had a great opportunity to go up by three goals with 1:45 left on a 5-on-3 in the third period, but the Sabres killed off both penalties.
Nichushkin went off for interference with 3:12 left, and Buffalo pulled Tokarski for a 6-on-4 advantage. Colorado killed off the penalty, and Nichushkin scored into the empty net at 18:57. It was his 12th goal of the season.
–Field Level Media
