the Minnesota Wild lost track of the super speedy Nathan

DENVER (AP) — For a brief moment Radek Faksa Jersey , the Minnesota Wild lost track of the super speedy Nathan MacKinnon.That’s all it took. MacKinnon had a tap-in goal off a nifty pass from Mikko Rantanen to give Colorado the lead, Semyon Varlamov stopped 20 shots and the Avalanche beat the Wild 4-1 on Thursday night in the opener for both teams.“His vision is awesome,” MacKinnon said of his linemate. “I just drove the net and Mikko made a great play.”Minnesota goaltender Devan Dubnyk didn’t have much of a chance on MacKinnon’s second-period goal that gave Colorado a 2-1 advantage. Rantanen skated down the left side and sent a pass through a sea of sticks to MacKinnon, who tapped it in before Dubnyk had a chance to fully turn his head.“He was in a good place and he made a good play,” Dubnky said.Wild coach Bruce Boudreau offered another explanation.“It’s MacKinnon. He’s going to get a lot of goals like that,” Boudreau said.MacKinnon picked up right where he left off from last season, when he tallied 39 goals and 58 assists on his way to finishing second in the Hart Trophy vote. He led the team in shots Thursday with eight. Carl Soderberg scored, while Rantanen and J.T. Compher added empty-net goals for the Avalanche, who moved to 15-5-3 in home openers since moving to town from Quebec.Varlamov returned to net after missing the playoffs last season with a knee injury he suffered late in the regular season. He made his eighth opening-night start in a burgundy-and-blue sweater Authentic Stephen Johns Jersey , surpassing Patrick Roy for the most by an Avalanche goaltender. This also was Varlamov’s 400th career NHL game.“He’s grown so much as a goalie,” MacKinnon said. “His mindset is he can play a low-shot game and stay sharp, and he was great.”Colorado thought it had a two-goal lead when Colin Wilson scored 1:36 into the third after knocking in a puck out of the air. The goal was reviewed and disallowed after it was determined Wilson’s left glove batted the puck in.No matter, Varlamov protected things with save after save. None bigger than stopping an Eric Staal wrist shot with his right shoulder on a 2-on-1 with just under 5 minutes remaining.Rantanen added an empty-net goal with 1:53 remaining and Compher another in the waning seconds to seal the victory.Colorado outshot the Wild 40-21. Zach Parise gave Minnesota a 1-0 lead on a backhand pass from Mikko Koivu early in the first period. Parise missed the opening 39 games a season ago due to a back ailment that required surgery. After steadily working his way back into form, Parise suffered a broken sternum in the playoffs.Minnesota is coming off a season in which it posted 101 points before losing to Winnipeg in the first round of the playoffs.“There was some sloppiness that’s not going to be seen in game 20,” Boudreau said. “Pucks bouncing over the sticks and over-skating the puck and things of that nature. … I think they did know how quick the pace was going to be, faster than the preseason, but took us a while to get up to it.”As for the Avalanche, general manager Joe Sakic has modest goals this season after his team returned to the postseason for the first time since 2013-14. Their average age this season is 26.3. They ended last season at 25.8.“Our goal is to make the playoffs Youth Tyler Pitlick Jersey , but the most important thing for us is to see the growth of this group,” Sakic said. “We’re excited to see who makes that next jump.”NOTES: Wild F Marcus Foligno was tripped by D Tyson Barrie late in the second period. Foligno went to the bench favoring his left leg but returned a few minutes later. … F Vladislav Kamenev (lower body) and D Anton Lindholm (upper body) were taken off injured reserve and reassigned to the Colorado Eagles of the AHL. … Avs F Sheldon Dries made his NHL debut. He had two shots. … Soderberg also had an assist.UP NEXT:Minnesota: Starts a three-game homestand Saturday against Las Vegas.Colorado: Hosts Philadelphia on Saturday. WASHINGTON — After taking a few days off for the holidays, the Washington Capitals will look to keep their early season momentum going Thursday against the Carolina Hurricanes in a Metropolitan Division matchup.The Capitals have won seven of eight and 14 of their last 17 to take control of the division, including a 4-0 victory over Ottawa on Dec. 23, and are winning thanks to contributions from every line. While Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov are the big scoring names, unheralded players such as Lars Eller and Brett Connolly have also stepped up to make Washington’s offense more lethal.“The coaching staff has a lot of faith in every single guy,” Connolly told The Washington Post. “We do have a lot of good depth and that’s definitely worked in our favor.”Article continues below ...Washington has 14 players with at least 10 points and five players with at least 10 goals, a testament to the kind of balance the Capitals are hoping to achieve from the top to bottom lines.“When you get guys down the lineup contributing, old Tyler Seguin Jersey , slow defenseman contributing, I think that’s good for team-building,” defenseman Matt Niskanen told reporters after Sunday’s game.With the Capitals coming off the holiday break, expect starter goaltender Braden Holtby to get the start between the pipes against the Hurricanes. He earned the victory in a wild 6-5 overtime contest when the teams faced off Dec. 14. In his career, Holtby is 13-6-0 with a 2.09 goals-against average and .935 save percentage with two shutouts in 19 appearances against Carolina.The Hurricanes were victorious heading into their break, earning a 5-3 triumph over Boston on Sunday to end a brief, two-game skid. As evidenced by its 15-15-5 record, consistency has been an issue for Carolina. The Hurricanes continue to be carried by Sebastian Aho, who leads the team in goals (14) and assists (24) http://www.avalancheshoponline.com/authentic-alexander-kerfoot-jersey , and is coming off a four-point effort in the win over Boston.“When you score, you get more confidence. That’s how it goes,” Aho told the team’s website. “I’m feeling pretty good right now, but it’s not just me.”Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour was pleased with his team’s effort in the comeback win against Boston, and knows that a similar performance is needed if his team is to best the Capitals.“You could see from the start they were engaged, even when we got down, and it was nice to see,” Brind’Amour told reporters. “The level of engagement, really for 60 minutes Womens Carl Soderberg Jersey , it was there.”The Hurricanes may turn to Petr Mrazek in net for Thursday’s contest after he picked up his sixth win of the season against Boston. Carolina has a way to go before it gets to Washington’s level of sustained excellence, but the Hurricanes are hoping to start with a win over the division leaders.“We can come back now feeling a little better,” forward Teuvo Teravainen said. “It’s still not where we want to be, but it’s getting better.”