Brock Nelson wasted no time showing why the Avalanche went out and paid him. The veteran center torched the Maple Leafs for a hat trick as Colorado kicked off its three-game road trip with a convincing 4–1 win Sunday afternoon at Scotiabank Arena.

Nelson scored twice early and added an empty-netter late to finish with his 26th and 27th goals of the season — and his first hat trick in an Avs sweater. Jack Drury also chipped in, while Mackenzie Blackwood bounced back in a big way, stopping 32 shots after a couple of rough outings.

With 30 games still to go, Nelson has already passed his goal total from last season, a pretty solid endorsement of the three-year, $22.5 million extension Colorado handed him in the offseason.

Max Domi scored Toronto’s lone goal on a late power play. Joseph Woll made 33 saves and had his moments, but Toronto never really found its footing.

Colorado nearly struck early when Gavin Brindley busted down the ice and tried to set up Taylor Makar at the crease for his first NHL goal, but the puck just slipped past him.

At the other end, Martin Nečas made a strong defensive play to break up a dangerous look for Auston Matthews, tying him up just enough to force a whiff in the slot.

Nelson opened the scoring 6:18 in by jumping a Toronto pass in the neutral zone, blowing into the offensive end, and ripping a wrist shot past Woll. The shot was so hard it actually damaged the net camera.

Just over a minute later, he was at it again. Artturi Lehkonen worked the puck from behind the net and found Nelson in the slot, where his shot deflected off Woll and in to make it 2–0.

Lehkonen later took a slashing penalty on John Tavares, but Colorado’s penalty kill handled it without much trouble. The Avs earned a power play of their own after Simon Benoit was called for tripping, but once again couldn’t cash in.

Fun fact, since Jared Bednar’s team meeting ahead of the Jan. 9 game against Ottawa, the Avalanche power play has gone just 4-for-26.

With just under five minutes left in the period, Nathan MacKinnon and Nečas broke in on a 2-on-1. MacKinnon elected to shoot, then took a hack at the rebound, but Woll covered it up.

Moments later, Cale Makar nearly blew the game open before Brandon Carlo hauled him down from behind, earning a holding penalty.

Colorado finally added to the lead late in the period. Parker Kelly carried the puck through the neutral zone, didn’t dump it in, and instead hit Drury in stride. Drury snapped a shot from the left circle past Woll with 1:07 remaining to make it 3–0.

The third opened with Makar shutting down a Toronto chance, then quickly springing the play the other way. Nečas nearly made it 4–0, but rang his shot off the post.

Josh Manson was called for high-sticking Matthew Knies at 8:03, giving Toronto another power play, but Colorado’s penalty kill came through again.

The Leafs had a few pushes, including another post from Carlo, but couldn’t beat Blackwood. By the midway point of the period, Colorado held a 34–24 shot advantage.

Matias Maccelli had Toronto’s best chance to get on the board when he found a loose puck in front of a wide-open net, but Blackwood flashed the splits and somehow kept it out.

Toronto pulled Woll with just under six minutes left, and things got tense in the Avs zone. Matthews barely missed wide on one scramble, while Nelson just missed finishing the hat trick on a couple of empty-net looks.

He finally sealed it with 3:46 remaining, burying the empty-net goal to complete the hat trick and take the air out of the building.

A late delay-of-game penalty on Zakhar Bardakov gave Toronto one last chance, and Domi scored on the power play to spoil Blackwood’s shutout, but that was about it.

Colorado walks out of Toronto with a solid 4–1 win and a red-hot Brock Nelson leading the way.

Two days of rest and then a game against the Ottawa Senators at 5:30 p.m. MT on Wednesday, January 28th.