Ice Breaker: MacKinnon piles on Tampa, Evans sinks Chicago

Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and three assists, and Colorado put six on Andrei Vasilevskiy in a 6-3 win over Tampa Bay. Two games on a Friday is a light menu, but the Avalanche turned it into a full meal before the second intermission.

Artturi Lehkonen now has a point in six straight games and nine goals in 11, by our count. That's the quiet line in a loud win.

The games

Avalanche 6, Lightning 3

Devon Toews scored 1:08 in, and Nazem Kadri added a power-play goal before six minutes were gone. Jake Guentzel scored twice to keep Tampa close, but MacKinnon scored early in the third to make it 5-2. Mackenzie Blackwood made 31 saves, and Vasilevskiy stopped 18 of 23.

Lind's read: Tampa outshot Colorado 34-24 and still lost by three. Vasilevskiy is at .876 over his last five starts, per NHL data, and the Lightning play in Utah tonight on the second night of a back-to-back.

Canadiens 4, Blackhawks 1

Connor Bedard scored 4:23 in, and Chicago never scored again. Jake Evans answered with two goals, one of them shorthanded, and added an assist. Kaiden Guhle had a goal and an assist, and Jacob Fowler stopped 20 of 21.

Sully's chirp: Jake Evans came in without a point this season and left with three. Chicago made a depth center look like a guy with his own shoe deal.

Three stars of the night

1. Nathan MacKinnon, COL: one goal, three assists.
2. Jake Evans, MTL: two goals, one of them shorthanded, and an assist.
3. Jacob Fowler, MTL: 20 saves on 21 shots.

Lind's number of the night

.911. That's Fowler's save percentage through five starts, per NHL data, with a 4-1 record and a shutout. Small sample, but Montreal's other goalie, Jakub Dobes, is at .847 through five, so the crease has a clear leader for now.

Sully's take of the morning

Look, Chicago is 0-4 on the road and the power play runs at 10.3%, per NHL data. Patrick Kane put three shots on net in 20:53 and the best thing anyone can say is he showed up. Grade: D.

The good news for the Panthers is they get these guys Sunday. The bad news is the Hawks are 3-3 at home, so the top six should still pick up that steak dinner for Cooper Black.

Kessler's corner

No. 2 Michigan State lost 1-0 at New Hampshire, and No. 3 North Dakota lost 5-3 at Minnesota. No. 13 Augustana went into Columbus and beat Ohio State 3-2 in overtime, which is the kind of result that tells you the new kids aren't new anymore.

Pabs' Florida line

The Everblades shut out Atlanta 5-0 at home, Cam Johnson stopped all 17, and Maleek McGowan had a goal and two assists. Estero is 3-0 and the barn is happy. Box score.

Tonight

Twelve games on the Saturday card, and the pick of the bunch is Toronto at Edmonton at 7 p.m. ET, where Connor McDavid brings a 10-game point streak and the Oilers sit at -180 on DraftKings.

Tampa Bay finishes its back-to-back in Utah at 9 p.m., with the Mammoth at -142. Carolina visits St. Louis at 7 p.m. as a -155 road favorite. The Panthers are in Chicago on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET. (21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.)