Nichushkin scores twice as Avs cap perfect road trip with 4-1 win

Valeri Nichushkin scored twice and Scott Wedgewood made 22 saves as the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1 on Thursday night at Nationwide Arena, completing a perfect road trip and extending Colorado's early-season points streak. The win was the Avalanche's fourth in five games, leaving them 4-0-1 to open the season.

Ivan Provorov gave Columbus a 1-0 lead early in the second period on a wrist shot from the left circle after a turnover in Colorado's end. Colorado responded with a dominant middle frame that produced three goals. Defenseman Cale Makar tied the game at 1-1 with a wrist shot over Elvis Merzlikins' shoulder, then Brock Nelson put the visitors ahead 2-1 by deflecting a Brent Burns shot. Nichushkin added a tip-in with four seconds left in the period and capped the scoring with an empty-net goal with under two minutes remaining.

Makar's goal carried individual significance. It marked his 118th career goal and brought him to 434 points through 400 NHL games, the third-most by a defenseman in that span behind Bobby Orr and Paul Coffey. Burns, at 40, became the second 40-year-old in Avalanche history to record a point streak of at least three games,...