Duchene, Senators rout Avs

Matt Duchene had two goals and an assist against his former club, and the Senators beat the Colorado Avalanche, 5-2, last night in Ottawa.

Duchene missed the previous three games because of the birth of his first son. This was his fourth game against the Avs since being traded to Ottawa in November 2017. He also scored twice in Denver on Oct. 26.

Brady Tkachuk, Mark Stone and Ryan Dzingel also scored for the Senators, and Anders Nilsson made 30 saves. It was Ottawa’s first win at home since Dec. 17.

Nikita Zadorov and Nathan MacKinnon scored for the Avalanche, who wrapped up a five-game trip. Semyon Varlamov stopped 26 shots.

Duchene put the Senators ahead 4-1 with his 19th goal of the season midway through the third period. Zack Smith had fired a puck that went wide of the net off the back boards, and Duchene picked it up and scored short side.

The Avalanche appeared to cut the lead in half minutes later, but it was waived off upon review because the left post was knocked off.

MacKinnon had a powerplay goal with four minutes remaining and Varlamov on the bench for the two-man advantage. The Avalanche had another opportunity after Christian Jaros sent the puck over the glass, but Colorado couldn’t capitalize. Duchene scored into an empty net with 1:02 left.

Elsewhere in the NHL — Montreal Canadiens forward Paul Byron was suspended for three games without pay for charging Florida defenseman MacKenzie Weegar. The suspension will cost Byron $18,817 . ...

Sabres defenseman Nathan Beaulieu is concerned with his lack of playing time and would prefer being traded if his role doesn’t change in Buffalo, his agent said. Beaulieu has three goals and seven points while appearing in just 26 of Buffalo’s 47 games.