Avalanche beat Canadiens 4-1 without injured stars MacKinnon, Makar

Artturi Lehkonen had a goal and an assist and the short-handed Colorado Avalanche beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 on Saturday night without injured stars Nathan MacKinnon and Cale MakarMONTREAL -- Artturi Lehkonen had a goal and an assist and the short-handed Colorado Avalanche beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 on Saturday night without injured stars Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar.MacKinnon and Makar both sustained lower-body injuries Thursday night in a 4-3 overtime loss in Ottawa. Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said MacKinnon will be out at least a month, while Makar is expected to miss two weeks.Fedor Svechkov, Brock Nelson and Nicolas Roy also scored for Colorado (12-6-3). Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 25 shots.Nick Suzuki replied with a highlight-reel goal for Montreal (12-4-4), which had gone 12 consecutive games without losing in regulation (9-0-3).Jakub Dobes made 22 saves in his first start in nine days.Colorado defenseman Brent Burns became the 14th player in NHL history — and only active player — to play in 1,600 games. The 41-year-old defender has suited up in 1,028 consecutive contests dating to Nov. 21, 2013. Phil Kessel holds the NHL’s “Ironman” record at 1,064 straight games, a number Burns could pass Feb. 15.Popular ReadsAvalanche: At Utah on Wednesday night.Canadiens: Host the New York Rangers on Monday night.___See AP’s full NHL coverage hereSponsored Content by TaboolaPopular Reads