DENVER — Brock Nelson tallied his inaugural two goals of the season within a span of just 2:49 in the second period, leading the New York Islanders to a convincing 6-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Monday night. This match marked a memorable return for coach Patrick Roy to Denver, where he previously celebrated two of his four Stanley Cup championships and coached the Avalanche for three seasons before departing just prior to the 2016 training camp.
Alongside Nelson, the Islanders saw contributions from Anthony Duclair, Kyle Palmieri, Anders Lee, and Mathew Barzal, while goaltender Ilya Sorokin turned away 32 shots to help secure the win. On the other hand, the Avalanche managed to get goals from Calum Ritchie, who scored his first in the NHL, and Casey Mittelstadt, but they remained winless after three games. Alexandar Georgiev, the Avalanche’s goaltender, made 32 saves during the match.
In terms of takeaways from the game, it was a significant turnaround for the Islanders after a disappointing 3-0 loss to Dallas on Saturday night. Though they quickly fell behind 1-0 just over a minute into the game, the Islanders responded with four consecutive goals to take control. Even after Mittelstadt narrowed the gap to 4-2 early in the second period, Duclair regained momentum for New York with a goal six minutes later.
Conversely, the Avalanche’s Georgiev had a mixed performance; while he improved from previous outings, a couple of errors played a pivotal role in New York’s early scoring. Lee capitalized on a mistake where Georgiev failed to cover the post, and he also left Palmieri with a wide-open net following a misjudged poke check attempt.
A critical moment in the game occurred when the Avalanche, trailing 3-1 and on a power play, saw defenseman Cale Makar make a blind pass at his own blue line. Nelson intercepted the pass and took advantage, scoring a short-handed goal against Georgiev.
Statistically, it was notable that the Islanders held a 2-1 lead after the first period, marking their first lead at that point in any game this season, and Sorokin recorded 10 saves during the opening 20 minutes.
Looking ahead, the Islanders will continue their road journey with a game in St. Louis on Thursday evening, while the Avalanche will host the Boston Bruins on Wednesday night.
