National Hockey League
Colorado 6, NY Islanders 1
When: 8:00 PM ET, Sunday, December 31, 2017
Where: Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado
Referees: Steve Kozari, Chris Rooney
Linesmen: Trent Knorr, Vaughan Rody
Attendance: 17461

DENVER -- The Colorado Avalanche planned to celebrate New Year's Eve with some postgame indoor fireworks.

The players got the festivities rolling early.

Gabriel Landeskog had two goals and an assist, Nathan MacKinnon added three assists, and the Avalanche routed the New York Islanders 6-1 on Sunday night.

Erik Johnson and Carl Soderberg had a goal and an assist each, and Matt Nieto and Patrik Nemeth also scored for Colorado, which blew open the game with a four-goal second period.

Jonathan Bernier stopped 27 shots and Samuel Girard had two assists for the Avalanche (19-16-3). Colorado has 41 points, seven fewer than it had all of last season.

"I think training camp was real good and we set the bar pretty high, and that's kind of translated into this season," Landeskog said. "We know there's a lot of work to do still, but the first three months have been fun. I still think we have another couple of gears."

Josh Bailey scored his 12th goal and extended his points streak to 11 games for New York. Jaroslav Halak had 30 saves on 35 shots before being giving way to Thomas Greiss after two periods. Greiss stopped 12 of the 13 shots he faced.

The Islanders (20-15-4) lost their sixth consecutive road game.

"We just didn't have our best today, for whatever reason. It's disappointing," said New York center John Tavares, who had his nine-game points streak stopped. "We need to look at ourselves in a mirror. Knowing we have a big week ahead, we have to challenge ourselves to be better."

The result was still in the balance before Landeskog scored twice late in the second period, with the first coming after the Islanders' Adam Pelech went off for interference.

New York coach Doug Weight barked at the officials and received a two-minute minor and a game misconduct.

"He just wanted to show some passion," Islanders assistant coach Luke Richardson said. "Some of the frustration, our team as a whole, we got out-battled from one end of the ice to the other, and your leader's got to show some passion. It wasn't there, and Doug did that. Sometimes it's extreme, but when a game like this goes against us, you've got to be extreme."

Scott Mayfield took a crosschecking penalty soon after Weight's ejection, and Landeskog scored on the five-on-three. The Avalanche finished with 23 shots in their four-goal second period, a season high.

"We get a five-on-three there, and you don't get too many of those," said Landeskog, who tied MacKinnon for the team lead with 16 goals. "We have some plays we work through over the course of the season, and one of them ended up working out. Power play has been good."

The Avalanche have been getting plenty of production from their top line of MacKinnon, Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen, but it was the secondary lines and defense that provided most of the offense Sunday. Soderberg's line accounted for two goals and three points and 11 of the 48 shots on goal.

"Second period I thought the Soderberg line kind of turned the tide for us," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. "They were fantastic. They were in on some big goals for us, getting to the net, coming up with secondary chances, banging in rebounds, real good on their puck decisions. They had a lot to do with the win tonight."

Nemeth's second goal of the season midway through the first period put Colorado on the board. The Nieto and Soderberg goals in the second period made it 3-0, and Landeskog put the game out of reach. Landeskog just missed getting his third hat trick in 46 days.

Bailey ended Bernier's shutout bid late in the third period to make it 5-1, but Johnson scored 40 seconds later to restore the five-goal lead.

Colorado forward Sven Andrighetto, who had an assist, left the game in the third period with a leg injury and didn't return.

NOTES: Avalanche C J.T. Compher will miss the remaining four games on the current homestand with an upper-body injury sustained in a win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday night. Compher took a hit in the third period but stayed in the game and scored the winner in overtime. ... There was a moment of silence for the officers in the Douglas County Sheriff's department who were involved in a shooting early Sunday morning. One deputy was killed and four others injured in the incident. ... Colorado has gone 11 games without allowing a power-play goal and has killed off 33 straight penalties.
Top Game Performances
 
NY Islanders   Colorado
Josh Bailey 1 Points Gabriel Landeskog 3
Josh Bailey 1 Goals Gabriel Landeskog 2
Scott Mayfield 1 Assists Nathan MacKinnon 3
N/A Power Play Goals Gabriel Landeskog 2
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Thomas Greiss .923 Save Percentage Jonathan Bernier .964
Jaroslav Halak 30 Saves Jonathan Bernier 27
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
NY Islanders 28 1 0-3 2-4 8 36
Colorado 48 6 2-4 3-3 6 33
Upcoming Games
  • Colorado will play their next game at home against Winnipeg. The Avalanche have a W/L % of .421 after a win and .579 after a loss.
  • NY Islanders will play their next game at home against Boston. The Islanders have a W/L % of .429 after a win and .611 after a loss.