Depth Wins In Toronto

TORONTO--Winning isn't easy, and there isn't one right way to accomplish it.
The Colorado Avalanche has found different methods to pull out victories during its win streak, and on Monday night the club got offensive contributions from players not named Nathan MacKinnon.

MacKinnon, the reigning NHL first star of the week who has 59 points on the season, had his nine-game point streak halted by the Toronto Maple Leafs, but the Avs continued theirs with a 4-2 victory at Air Canada Centre. Colorado has now won 10 straight contests, the second longest stretch in franchise history.
The Avalanche received depth scoring as its bottom-three lines scored at even strength while the MacKinnon-centered trio faced tough matchups all night versus a hungry Toronto club that was looking to put together its own streak.
"That's another good indication of one of the things I liked about this game," said Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar afterward. "They might not have had the best night offensively, but we still found a way with our other lines to get the job done and get secondary scoring."

Gabriel Bourque and Nail Yakupov tallied the first two markers for Colorado, and Blake Comeau recorded the game-winner with 7:43 left in regulation.
The Avalanche's top line got on the scoresheet late when Gabriel Landeskog recorded an empty-net goal in the final minute of play.
"Those guys have carried the load offensively for a huge part of this season. They've been outstanding," Comeau said of the Avs line of MacKinnon, Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen. "They're a big reason why we are where we are. With that being said, we've had a lot of things happen throughout this streak that we're on to give us success. Great penalty kill, great goaltending, our defense has played outstanding. We've had contributions from every line at key moments in the game. And even if lines aren't scoring, they've done a good job of committing defensively. We've found a way to lock things down. We're playing great defensive hockey. Defense first, and that is translating for chances for us."
Comeau's ninth goal of the season came from a deflection off a shot from Carl Soderberg to give the Avalanche back the lead after trailing for the first time since its last defeat on Dec. 27 versus the Arizona Coyotes.
"I knew we had a quick 3-on-2, passed it over to Carl, and I thought I saw the defenseman pull up and maybe cheat a little bit," Comeau said. "I tried to drive hard to the net, and Carl made a great play by throwing it there. Definitely happy to see it go in."

Colorado had not trailed in the first 577 minutes and 32 seconds of its winning streak, that was until Auston Matthews scored at 9:17 of the middle period to give Toronto a 2-1 lead. Suddenly, the Avs experienced something they hadn't dealt with in nearly four weeks.
"I don't think it changed our mindset one bit," Comeau said of the Avs being down on the scoreboard. "We know we're not going to go the rest of the season leading every game and holding onto the lead for the rest of the year. We need to find ways to come from behind. We need to find ways that if we're down one or two goals, that we keep pushing and stick with what we need to do."

The Avs ended up not being down for long as they countered quickly. Nail Yakupov finished a 2-on-1 with Alex Kerfoot to tie the outing at 2-2, just 1:34 after Matthews' marker.
"We were able to respond, answer back and find a way to pull out the win," Bednar said. "I think it shows that we're maturing as a group, and we're starting to get where we want to be."

Now winners of the franchise's longest undefeated streak since 1999, the Avalanche looks to make it 11 straight on Tuesday night when it wraps up the back-to-back set at the Montreal Canadiens.
Comeau said it's not tough for Colorado to stay even-keel during this stretch when the standings in the Western Conference are so tight.
"Before tonight, we had won nine straight and I think we are only two points up on three of four teams," Comeau said. "We're in no position to be feeling good about ourselves. Nobody is satisfied, and I think that is why we're continuing to roll because the hunger is still there. We realize where we're at in the standings, and we just want to keep climbing as much as we can."

BERNIER WINS RETURN TRIP

Jonathan Bernier was looking forward to this one.
The Avalanche goaltender was playing his first game in Toronto since being a member of the Maple Leafs from 2013 to 2016.
Bernier played 151 games for the Leafs before being traded to the Anaheim Ducks on July 8, 2016.
"That is one of the games that you look on the calendar and you want to play that game, and you definitely want to win," Bernier said. "I got to give credit to the guys. We battled hard. We stuck with it, and Combs scored a big goal there."

The Laval, Quebec, native stopped 29-of-31 shots to extend his career-long winning streak to nine games. Only Patrick Roy has won more in a consecutive stretch in franchise history as he was victorious in 11 straight outings in 1999.
"I felt pretty good," Bernier said of his game. "Obviously, it's always a challenge to play against your old team. I think as the game went on, I felt much better and more comfortable. As a team, we played really well and that gives me confidence."
He said he had mixed emotions when he took the ice for warmup.
"I've had some great memories and bad memories here," Bernier said. "I wanted to make sure that I brought my A-game and give a chance for my team to win. Obviously, you want to get a W against your old team that traded you."

Head coach Jared Bednar has yet to decide on a netminder for Tuesday's contest at the Montreal Canadiens, but Bernier appears to be a strong candidate to start in his hometown based on how well he's been playing as of late.
Entering Monday, he had a 1.47 goals-against average and .958 save percentage during his own winning streak.

SUCCESSFUL CHALLENGE

The Avalanche took a Maple Leafs goal off the scoreboard midway through the second period with a successful coaches challenge.
Arizona native Auston Matthews buried the puck for Toronto at 7:36 of the third period when he knocked in a rebound past Jonathan Bernier during a commotion in the crease.
Colorado head coach Jared Bednar challenged the tally for goaltender interference, and after a long review by the referees, the marker was overturned, much to the dismay of 18,979 at Air Canada Centre.
"Matthews stick was caught in-between Bernier's blocker and body and kind of pushing him back, so the puck went in on the left side," Bednar said of his reasoning to challenge. "We didn't think he would get a chance to get over there (to make the save) because he was kind of hooked up there in Matthews stick."
The Avs are now 3-for-6 on coaches challenges this season and 2-for-4 when contesting for goalie interference.