Nathan MacKinnon, Avs stay hot, keep Sabres winless

Nathan MacKinnon scored a pair of goals for the visiting Colorado Avalanche, who notched a 3-1 victory Monday over the Buffalo Sabres.

Cale Makar added a goal and an assist for the Avalanche, who have earned points in all four of their games to start the season. Martin Necas added a pair of assists.

Tage Thompson got his first goal of the season for the Sabres, who lost their third straight game.

Scott Wedgewood made 28 saves as he earned his third victory of the season for Colorado. Alex Lyon set aside 34 shots for Buffalo.

The Sabres came out strong, heeding the message coach Lindy Ruff gave after the team's lackluster performance in Saturday's loss in Boston. Buffalo rattled off five shots on Wedgewood in the first three minutes, but it was the Avalanche that took the early lead.

MacKinnon scored his third of the season on a backhander in the slot after gathering the puck off a pass from Necas with 16:46 left in the first.

Buffalo finally got one past Wedgewood on a Thompson blast from the blue line with 3:28 to go in the opening period. Rasmus Dahlin set it up, keeping the puck in the zone by pinching on the boards, and Alex Tuch also assisted.

The Avalanche took the lead for good in the second period thanks to a Sabres giveaway in their own end. Valeri Nichushkin intercepted a Dahlin pass at the blueline. He skated in toward Lyon before passing late to Makar, and the defending Norris Trophy winner slammed in it for his first goal of the season.

Makar and Necas set up MacKinnon's second of the game, and fourth of the season, as the Avalanche worked the perimeter around the Sabres' defense. MacKinnon settled into the right circle and used a wrist shot to get the insurance goal.

Colorado went 0-for-4 on power-play opportunities, missing out on a man-advantage goal for the first time this season. Buffalo failed to cash in on any of its three chances with the extra skater. The Sabres have yet to score a power-play goal in 11 chances through their first three games.