Colton, Olofsson score 1:19 apart, streaking Avs beat Islanders 4-1

DENVER (AP) — Ross Colton and Victor Oloffson scored in a 1:19 span in the second period to help the streaking Colorado Avalanche beat the New York Islanders 4-1 on Sunday night.

Brock Nelson had a goal and an assist and Martin Necas had an empty-netter for NHL-leading Colorado. The Avalanche have won six in a row to improve to 13-1-5. They have earned at least a point in nine straight games.

Scott Wedgewood made 28 saves for the Avalanche while Nathan MacKinnon, the NHL scoring leader, was held without a point for the first time in 12 games.

Emil Heineman scored and Ilya Sorokin stopped 25 shots for New York. The Islanders won the first four games on a seven-game trip.

Colorado honored Islanders coach Patrick Roy during the first media timeout. Roy, who began his Hall of Fame career in Montreal, was traded to the Avalanche in December 1995, their first season in Colorado.

He led the Avalanche to their first Stanley Cup title six months later and backstopped the franchise to a second one in 2000-01 before retiring following the 2002-03 season.

He returned as the head coach in 2013, led the Avalanche to a 112-point finish in his first season but abruptly resigned in the summer of 2016. The Islanders hired him in January 2024.

Heineman put New York ahead 2:05 into the game when Tony DeAngelo’s shot from the right circle deflected off his left skate and by Scott Wedgewood. Colorado argued Heineman used a kicking motion but the goal stood.

Colton tied it with his third goal of the season at 4:32 of the second, Olofsson tipped Sam Malinski’s shot by Sorokin at 5:51 to give the Avalanche the lead. Nelson and Necas scored in the final minute.

Islanders: At Dallas on Tuesday night.

Avalanche: Host the New York Rangers on Thursday night.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

New York Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov, front, pins Colorado Avalanche left wing Artturi Lehkonen to the boards in the second period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

New York Islanders center Mathew Barzal, front, collects the puck as Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon defends in the second period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

New York Islanders center Mathew Barzal, right, collects the puck as Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon defends in the second period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

New York Islanders right wing Simon Holmstrom, left, pursues the puck with Colorado Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews in the second period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

New York Islanders head coach Patrick Roy looks on from the team box in the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

COTONOU, Benin (AP) — A group of soldiers appeared on Benin ’s state TV Sunday to announce the dissolution of the government in an apparent coup, the latest of many in West Africa.

The group, which called itself the Military Committee for Refoundation, announced the removal of the president and all state institutions. Lt. Col. Pascal Tigri has been appointed president of the military committee, the soldiers said.

Following its independence from France in 1960, the West African nation witnessed multiple coups, especially in the decades following its independence. Since 1991, the country has been politically stable following the two-decade rule of Marxist-Leninist Mathieu Kérékou.

“Everything is fine,” Wilfried Houngbedji, the spokesperson for the Benin Government, told The Associated Press without expanding. There is no official news about President Patrice Talon since gunshots were heard around the presidential residence. The signal to state television and public radio was cut off after the military announcement.

Talon had been in power since 2016 and was due to step down next April after the presidential election.

Talon’s party pick, former Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni, was the favorite to win the election. Opposition candidate Renaud Agbodjo was rejected by the electoral commission on the grounds that he did not have sufficient sponsors.

In January, two associates of Talon were sentenced to 20 years in prison for an alleged 2024 coup plot.

Last month, the country’s legislature extended the presidential term of office from five to seven years, keeping the term limit at two.

The coup is the latest in a string of military takeovers that have rocked West Africa. Last month, a military coup in Guinea-Bissau removed former President Umaro Embalo after a contested election in which both he and the opposition candidate declared themselves winners.

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Adetayo reported from Lagos, Nigeria.

FILE - Benin's President Patrice Talon attends a meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at Planalto presidential palace in Brasilia, Brazil, on May 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)