Guenther has 2 goals and an assist as Utah beats Avalanche 4-1

DENVER (AP) — Dylan Guenther had two goals and an assist and the Utah Hockey Club beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-1 on Thursday night.

Vladislav Kolyachonok and Kevin Stenlund also scored as Utah improved to 3-0-1 in its last four games. Karel Vejmelka stopped 22 shots.

Nathan MacKinnon scored his 11th goal of the season for Colorado, and Scott Wedgewood had 19 saves in his first home start with the Avalanche since coming over in a trade with Nashville on Nov. 30. The Avalanche snapped a three-game win streak.

Guenther opened the scoring at 8:26 of the first period when his centering pass deflected off Artturi Lehknonen's skate and past Wedgewood. Kolyachonok and Guenther then scored 1:47 apart midway through the second period to put Utah up 3-0.

MacKinnon made it 3-1 with 4:34 left in the third, but Stenlund scored into an empty net 23 seconds later.

Takeaways

Utah: Has a losing record at home but is 9-6-2 on the road. Utah has won five straight road games, where it plays six of its next 10 games.

Avalanche: New goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood served as Wedgewood’s backup three days after being acquired from San Jose. Blackwood is expected to be Colorado’s No. 1 goalie

Key moment

Colorado had a chance to cut into the deficit in the final minute of the second period when Cale Makar’s shot trickled through Vejmelka and landed in front of the net. Casey Mittlestadt fanned trying to knock it in and Utah was able to clear it out of the crease.

Key stat

MacKinnon’s goal was his 946 career point, tying him with Michel Goulet for third in franchise history.

Up next

Utah travels to San Jose on Saturday night while the Avalanche host Nashville.

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AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL

Michael Kelly, The Associated Press