CALGARY, Alberta — The Avalanche on Tuesday began what could be an extended injury absence to first-line center Nathan MacKinnon, and it went as well as the NHL-leading club could have hoped at Scotiabank Saddledome.
Colorado used two power-play goals from winger Valeri Nichushkin and 44 saves from goalie Darcy Kuemper to defeat the Calgary Flames — the Western Conference’s second-best team — 2-1 to become the first team in the league to reach 100 points.
Colorado (47-14-6), which is also still without four other injured players, finished 2-0-1 in the regular-season series against Calgary (40-18-8). The Avs, who have 15 remaining regular-season games, extended their conference lead over the Flames by a whopping 12 points.