Goals by Cale Makar and Brock Nelson 72 seconds apart sparked the visiting Colorado Avalanche to a 4-1 comeback victory over the struggling Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.
Valeri Nichushkin scored twice for the Avalanche, who posted four unanswered goals to remain unbeaten in regulation (4-0-1). Goaltender Scott Wedgewood made 22 saves.
Ivan Provorov replied for the Blue Jackets, who have only one victory and two points to show for their first four games. Goalie Elvis Merzlikins stopped 33 shots in a performance that went for naught.
With his team trailing 1-0, Makar made his 400th game special when he found the mark from the high slot at 10:34 of the second period for his second goal of the season.
The goal was the 118th of his career, the fifth-most by a defenseman through 400 games in NHL history — trailing only Bobby Orr (150 goals), Paul Coffey (148), Denis Potvin (128) and Ray Bourque (124). Makar added an assist.
Nelson put the Avalanche ahead at 11:46 by redirecting a Brent Burns point shot through Merzlikins’ legs for his first goal.
Minutes after the Blue Jackets thought they had tied the clash only to have a goal waved off due to an offside call, Nichushkin made it a 3-1 lead. He set up at the doorstep and delivered another deflection goal with just 3.9 seconds remaining in the middle frame.
The Blue Jackets had another possible goal disallowed due to a hand pass late in the third period, then Nichushkin’s empty-netter at the 18:03 mark sealed the result.
Despite the Avalanche controlling play from the drop of the puck, Columbus opened the scoring when Provorov scored his first of the season 1:36 into the second period.
