Avalanche defeat Ducks to win seventh straight game

DENVER -- Jonathan Bernier made 33 saves to help the Colorado Avalanche defeat the Anaheim Ducks 3-1 at Pepsi Center on Monday for their seventh consecutive win.
The streak is Colorado's longest since winning eight in a row Dec. 31, 2005 to Jan. 17, 2006. The Avalanche have won six straight at home, their longest since an eight-game streak Nov. 30 to Dec. 23, 2011.

"My focus is just to give us a chance to win some hockey games," said Bernier, who has a 1.27 goals-against average and .962 save percentage during a personal six-game winning streak, an NHL career high. "I'm not trying to be special or anything like that. I'm just trying to make the first save, and let my teammates] handle the rebounds. They're doing a great job."
***[WATCH: [All Ducks vs. Avalanche highlights]*
Matt Nieto, Nathan MacKinnon and Colin Wilson scored for the Avalanche (24-16-3), who are 12-3-1 in their past 16 games.
"We've got to keep our button on the play button," said MacKinnon, who put the Avalanche ahead 2-0 at 9:39 of the second period with his 20th goal. "For us, it's so tight, we can't get comfortable. Our division, I think we're eight games over .500, we might still be in last place. It's crazy. We still have 39 games left, so we have to stay hungry."
MacKinnon scored against Ryan Miller (26 saves) moments after Bernier lunged to his right to deflect Ryan Kesler shot with his stick.
"Just a desperate save and got lucky I get a stick on it," said Bernier, who went 2-0-0 against his former team this season. "He looked at me after and he kind of laughed. He knew if I don't make that save, the game could have been a lot different."

Said Avalanche coach Jared Bednar: "He made that one spectacular save, which for me was the turning point in the game. He makes that save, and then we go down the other end and get a two-goal lead. That's what you need out of your goaltender on a nightly basis, and he's certainly giving it to us right now."
Chris Wagner scored for the Ducks (20-16-9), who went 2-2-1 on a five-game road trip.

"I didn't think we had a very good game from the standpoint of execution," Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said. "Pucks were rolling away from us, we were getting frustrated, specifically in the offensive zone. We didn't really get a lot of Grade A second chances. We get one chance and a few flurries. Bernier stood tall. There wasn't a lot of rebounds, but we didn't create enough traffic."
The Ducks closed to 2-1 when Wagner knocked in a rebound at 12:55 of the second, but the Avalanche made it 3-1 with 19.6 seconds left when Wilson scored a power-play goal off a pass from Alex Kerfoot.
The Ducks killed their first three penalties, running their streak to 18, before Wilson scored.
Colorado took a 1-0 lead on Nieto's goal at 9:16 of the first period. Blake Comeau's shot was deflected in front, and Nieto slid the puck inside the right post.

"They skate really fast for the most part, and they capitalized on their chances," Wagner said. "We gave them too many chances off the rush and too many power plays, and that hurt us. We played better as the game went on, but (Bernier) made some pretty good saves for them."
Ducks forward Andrew Cogliano's consecutive games streak ended at 830, the fourth-longest in NHL history. He began a two-game suspension for interference on Los Angeles Kings forward Adrian Kempe on Saturday.
"It's unfortunate the suspension is in place, but we take our medicine and move on," Carlyle said. "It's up to other people to step up and make a difference."

Goal of the game

MacKinnon's goal at 9:39 of the second period.

Save of the game

Bernier stopping Kesler at 9:27 of the second period.

Highlight of the game

Wilson's goal with 19.6 seconds left in the second period.

They said it

"I think our guys are enjoying coming to the rink right now. They're playing the right way and they're having success, so that leads to confidence and a little bit of energy and guys wanting to keep this thing going. It's been a fun stretch, for sure." -- Avalanche coach Jared Bednar
"We're fighting for the playoffs, and if we get in, we're going to be a tough team to beat." -- Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon
"I wasn't going to learn everything in the meetings before the game, but I tried to get as much as I could. Obviously, you're going to make mistakes, but they said we will coach you through them so don't be afraid to make those mistakes, just go out there and play." -- Ducks forward JT Brown, who played his first game after being claimed off waivers from the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday

Need to know

MacKinnon has five goals and nine assists in a seven-game point streak.

What's next

Ducks:Host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN, SN360, ATTSN-PT, NHL.TV)
Avalanche: Host the San Jose Sharks on Thursday (9 p.m. ET; ALT, NBCSCA, NHL.TV)