Nathan MacKinnon had three second-period assists to regain the NHL points lead, Martin Necas scored twice and added an assist and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Calgary Flames 4-2 on Thursday night.

Nathan MacKinnon had three assists, while his new linemate Martin Necas had two goals and an assist to help the Avalanche shrug off a slow start before rolling past the Flames, 4-2, at Scotiabank Saddledome.

Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon continues to bolster his MVP case.Late in the second period of Colorado's home game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday, MacKinnon became the first player to reach 80 points this season when he netted his 20th goal on a power play.

Nine games were featured last night in the NHL, including the Canadiens who were in Anaheim. As we know, Montreal lost. Here are the results and highlights from the other games: That’s a wrap on a nine-game Sunday.

Perhaps Sunday marked the start of the Avalanche getting their mojo back after a roller-coaster January underscored by a 7-6-2 record, and the blockbuster trade of Mikko Rantanen to Carolina. The Avs weathered a grinding opening period to pull away for a 2-0 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers at Ball Arena.