Avalanche point streak ends at 17 games with 6-3 loss to Patrick Roy’s Islanders

ELMONT N Y This Colorado Avalanche unit is mortal after all The New York Islanders spoiled Brock Nelson s return to UBS Arena and ended Colorado s -game point streak with a - conquest Thursday night Not only did the Islanders keep Nathan MacKinnon off the scoresheet for the second time this season New York put Colorado its first four-goal hole of the season before the Avs made a battle of it It definitely wasn t our best battle Avs captain Gabe Landeskog revealed We gave up more shots than normal It felt like we gave up a decent amount of scoring chances and it just didn t feel like we were as tight defensively Colorado had the second longest run to start a season with just one regulation loss in NHL history but dropped to - - on the season Both regulation losses have been on the road the Avs are now - - away from Ball Arena The six goals were the most of allowed by the Avs this season as were the shots on goal We had various strange reads and it cost us scoring chances Avs coach Jared Bednar stated And we got out-battled at our net front Too several rebounds That can t happen We ve got to be harder at our net front I give them credit I thought they played a really good championship I thought we fought and tried to stay in it but we had specific guys that didn t have great nights The Islanders grabbed a - lead at into the first period even if the Avs didn t believe it was a legal goal There was a scramble in the Colorado crease before the puck shook free to Kyle MacLean along the goal line He spun and fired it into the net while Blackwood was down on the ice with Islanders forward Marc Gatcomb s stick lodged into his leg pad Colorado challenged for goalie interference but the league s official review concluded that incidental contact occurred during a scramble for a loose puck in a rebound situation so it was still - for the home side The Avs had only trailed by multiple goals in three games this season and not since an overtime loss Oct at New Jersey New York grabbed a - lead with remaining in the opening period Mathew Barzal carried the puck into the Colorado zone and made a cross-ice pass to Islanders captain Anders Lee who beat Blackwood into the top-right corner with a shot from the right circle It got worse during a wild second period Bo Horvat made it - when he solved Blackwood on the third attempt of an Islanders rush Blackwood stopped Horvat s first first shot then rookie phenom Matthew Schaefer on the rebound but Horvat got inside Josh Manson and didn t miss when given another chance Adam Pelech scored seconds later on a harmless-looking shot from the left circle that handcuffed Blackwood and at of the second period in Battle No the Avalanche eventually faced a four-goal deficit I didn t play my best tournament that s for sure reported Blackwood who made saves You re not going to win games even if you want to I ll take that loss on me I could have been better Valeri Nichushkin scored seconds after Pelech when he re-directed Sam Malinski s right point shot It was Nichushkin s sixth goal of the season and his first since returning from missing eight games with lower-body injury Less than two minutes later Martin Necas swooped towards the net from the left wing went across the front of the crease and tried to pass it back to his left The puck hit Travis Mitchell s skate and trickled across the goal line for Necas th goal of the season at of the middle period Suddenly it was a - games with nearly minutes to play Related Articles Keeler While Broncos Nikola Jokic own Denver s eyeballs Avalanche s Nathan MacKinnon quietly putting up best season in Colorado history Nathan MacKinnon Avalanche keep white-hot start rolling with home win against Canucks Another sign of this Colorado Avalanche unit s dominance It kept rolling without Valeri Nichushkin Shots on goal are harder to come by in the NHL these days but not for the Colorado Avalanche Brock Nelson Gabe Landeskog lead Avalanche rout of Canadiens in - win But the Avs took their fourth penalty of the night late in the second period when Cale Makar went to the box for tripping and Barzal made it a - Islanders lead with remaining in the period Makar pulled the Avalanche back within two goals early in the third period when he set up Artturi Lehkonen for a sharp-angle one-timer at One Islanders player had a broken stick and another lost his just before the goal MacKinnon who leads the NHL with goals and points has only been held without a point five times in games this season two of the past three times have been against the Islanders We ve had bad periods we ve had bad stretches that we ve overcome but I look at a lot of that tournament and we re still digging in Bednar announced It was closer than you think but it still wasn t good enough We ve just got to make sure the next one is FOOTNOTES Bednar stated before the match that Scott Wedgewood back is day-to-day but could still play during this four-game road trip Wedgewood was removed from the last challenge Tuesday night at Ball Arena because his back tightened up on him Trent Miner backed up Blackwood against the Islanders Want more Avalanche news Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis