Nathan MacKinnon shrugged off

BUFFALO Womens Nick Jensen Jersey , N.Y. (AP) — his hot start with the Colorado Avalanche this season by suggesting he can be better.“It’s nice for sure. I think I can play better than I am,” MacKinnon said after scoring twice in a 6-1 rout of the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night. “I’m just putting it in right now but I think, overall, it hasn’t been the easiest year so far.”Coach Josh Bednar agrees with his player, who has five goals and extended his season-opening scoring streak to four games.“I feel like he’s just kind of starting to hit his stride,” Bednar said, before turning his attention to the Avalanche’s top line rounded out by Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog.“If they continue to work the way they’re working, and do the right things and pay attention to the process, it’s going to come for them,” he added.Tyson Jost and Colin Wilson scored power-play goals 2:25 apart in a first period in which the Avalanche built a 3-0 lead on Carl Soderberg’s goal with 3:30 left.MacKinnon scored his first of the game 28 seconds after Buffalo’s Nathan Beaulieu cut Colorado’s lead to 3-1 late in the second period.MacKinnon and Alexander Kerfoot then scored breakaway goals in the final five minutes as Colorado improved to 3-1 and bounced back from a 5-2 loss at Columbus.Semyon Varlamov stopped 30 shots to improve to 3-0. And Mackinnon matched the Colorado franchise record for a goal streak to open a season, set by John Mitchell three years ago.Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin , the first overall draft pick this summer, got his first career point with an assist on Beaulieu’s goal.Otherwise, very little went right for Buffalo (2-2) Thomas Vanek Jersey , which squandered a chance to match last season’s team-best three-game winning streak.Whatever momentum the Sabres attempted to generate were dashed with 22 second left in the first period when Kyle Okposo’s goal was disallowed following a coaching challenge for goalie interference.Officials determined Okposo interfered with Varlamov when he crashed into the crease to convert Jack Eichel’s pass. After redirecting the pass, Okposo backed into the goalie, forcing Varlamov to lift his right pad and allowing the puck to sneak in beneath it.“I knew it was going to be probably a 50-50 one,” Okposo said. “I don’t think me being there really affected it. But they did. And that’s how it goes.”Okposo was more frustrated over how Buffalo started the game.“I think it would’ve been nice to get out of there 3-1, but we deserved to be down 3-0,” he said. “We didn’t play well in the first period. Like, it was bad.”Buffalo’s bad breaks were compounded after Beaulieu scored.MacKinnon scored to regain Colorado’s three-goal edge after a Sabres clearing attempt got caught up referee Francis Charron’s skate. The puck dribbled to Rantanen, who fed a pass through the crease to a wide-open MacKinnon.“Last game we started out a little bit sloppy so it was something we emphasized before the game,” Wilson said. “We answered the bell there and stayed in our mindset the whole game.”NOTES: Colorado converted 2 of 4 power-play opportunities, while Buffalo went 0 for 7. … Avalanche C Vladislav Kamenev made his season debut. Acquired from Nashville in a three-team trade in November, he missed 50 games after breaking his arm in his Avalanche debut. … Sabres LW Johan Larsson made his season debut since sustaining a lower body injury during the preseason. D Zach Bogosian (lower body) was placed on injured reserve. … Sabres G Carter Hutton had 24 saves.UP NEXTAvalanche: Return home to play Calgary Flames on Saturday, before heading east for four-game road trip.Sabres: Open five-game road trip at Arizona on Saturday. CALGARY, Alberta (AP) Glen Gulutzan took the fall for the Calgary Flames‘ shortcomings this season with his dismissal Tuesday.With a year remaining on his contract as head coach, Gulutzan was fired along with assistant Dave Cameron and Paul Jerrard less than two years after they were hired.A poor home record Nick Foligno Jersey , a wretched power play and a late-season dive contributed to Calgary finishing out of the playoffs with a 37-35-10 record.”Accountability lies with all of us,” Flames general manager Brad Treliving said at a hastily-called news conference at Scotiabank Saddledome.”As a manager I lead that charge. Our hockey staff leads that charge and also our players. When you make a decision (like) I made today, there is lots of blame to go around.”Gulutzan coached Calgary to the playoffs in his first season, but the Flames were eliminated in four straight games by the Anaheim Ducks in 2017.The additions of veteran goaltender Mike Smith and defenseman Travis Hamonic were considered to be the pieces of the puzzle that would get the Flames deeper into the playoffs.Riding a seven-game win streak and sitting second in the Pacific Division in January, the Flames lost six in a row coming out of their bye week and continued to struggle coming down the stretch.The team held down the Western Conference’s final wild-card spot Feb. 25, but managed just two victories in its final 11 games of the regular season.Smith’s performance dropped late in the season after missing a month with a lower-body injury.Top-line center Sean Monahan played through multiple injuries that required surgeries when he was shut down for the season March 21.”We relied too much on too few,” Treliving said. ”Certainly the lack of depth, or the lack of contributions by many, was a big part of the problem we had.”A 17-20-4 record at the Saddledome and a power play that ranked 29th in the league at 16 percent were a factor in Calgary missing the playoffs.Gulutzan, 46, was Treliving’s first head-coaching hire.Treliving extended the contract of Gulutzan’s predecessor, Bob Hartley, in December 2014, but fired him 17 months later and brought Gulutzan on board.Hartley had a reputation for being hard on players Authentic Oliver Bjorkstrand Jersey , while Gulutzan was considered more approachable.”Personality didn’t have a whole lot to do with this decision,” Treliving said. ”I don’t necessarily think our group is a difficult group to coach. There’s challenges with every group.”By no means is today’s decision letting anyone off the hook. Ultimately you have success when your players perform well. I felt in order to get us to that level, we had to make this decision.”So the Flames will hire their fourth head coach in nine years after Gulutzan (2016-17) Hartley (2012-16) and Brent Sutter (2009-12). Calgary has finished outside the playoffs seven of the past nine years.”You can’t churn (coaches),” Treliving said. ”Having said that, you can’t not make a decision for the same reason. Ultimately it’s my responsibility to get it right. I really try to avoid emotional decisions.”This is not a step back from the season and a need to throw a body on the tarmac.”Assistant coach Martin Gelinas, goaltending coach Jordan Singalet and video coach Jamie Pringle remain with the team.”There won’t be any other further coaching moves at this stage,” Treliving said.Gulutzan has a 146-125-23 NHL coaching record that also includes two seasons with the Dallas Stars (2011-2013).Recently unemployed NHL coaches include Alain Vigneault, Dan Bylsma, Dave Tippett and former Flames coach Darryl Sutter.”I think having experience in this league is critical,” Treliving said.—

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