MacKinnon extends point streak to 18, Avalanche defeat Coyotes

DENVER -- Nathan MacKinnon had an assist to extend his point streak to 18 games for the Colorado Avalanche in a 4-1 win against the Arizona Coyotes at Ball Arena on Saturday.

MacKinnon, who has 34 points (12 goals, 22 assists) during his run, broke a tie with Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander for the longest point streak in the NHL this season. MacKinnon also extended his season-opening home point streak to 18 games (15 goals, 23 assists).

“I can't just pick out one thing,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said of MacKinnon’s play. "If I had to just say one thing, to be able to go 18 games, it's consistency, right. It's getting to a high level and being able to stay there for a long period of time.”

Fredrik Olofsson had a goal and an assist, and Valeri Nichushkin scored for the Avalanche (21-11-2), who have won two straight and five of their past seven games (5-2-0). Logan O'Connor had two assists, and Alexandar Georgiev made 24 saves.

“I liked it a lot,” Bednar said. “Good first period and second period might have been our most complete period of the year. That's what it's supposed to look like from our standpoint, and to sort of dig in the last couple games after a disappointing loss and get two really good victories at home, I think it's what we want. The second period is a template of how we should and want to play.”

Alex Kerfoot scored, and Connor Ingram made 22 saves for the Coyotes (17-14-2), who had won four straight and nine of their past 13 (9-4-0).

“I don't think we had the answer when the pace of the game raised,” Arizona coach André Tourigny said. “I don’t think we raised our game. We stayed level. At the end of the day, I think they were playing fast. We were not.

“When you play those games, those kind of opponents, you want to see where you're at, and I don't think we had the right answer tonight.”

Bowen Byram gave Colorado a 1-0 lead at 8:37 of the first period, scoring on a wrist shot from between the circles that went through the legs of Coyotes forward Nick Bjugstad and into the top corner.

“It was a lot of fun tonight to play like that,” Byram said. “Whenever you have the puck and you're driving the play, it makes it a lot more fun than running around and defending in the D-zone. We're all excited for a couple of days [off], but we knew we needed to get four points before that happened.”

Nichushkin made it 2-0 at 1:27 of the second period when he one-timed MacKinnon’s cross-zone pass from the right circle over the shoulder of Ingram.

Josh Manson extended it to 3-0 at 13:29 with a wrist shot from between the circles that went over Ingram’s glove.

“His goal is off the rush and getting active, same as Bo's,” Bednar said. “Very similar plays. Sometimes our 'D', I find, are leery to shoot in O-zone play. I'd rather see guys step and shoot, and cause havoc at the net by crashing the net.”

Olofsson pushed it to 4-0 at 19:52, chipping in Andrew Cogliano’s behind-the-back pass at the left post.

“A little lucky I think, but the odd time a squirrel finds a nut, right?” Cogliano said of the pass. “No, I knew he was going backdoor, and I just threw it backhand. Luckily it went through [Matt Dumba’s] legs.”

Kerfoot cut it to 4-1 at 16:56 of the third period on the power play, redirecting Michael Carcone’s shot through traffic.

“They're the measuring-stick team in our division,” Kerfoot said. “They've won a Cup in the last couple of years. They've been right at the top of the League for a number of years, and if we want to be pushing into playing meaningful games, if we want to be a team who competes for playoff spots, these are the types of teams that we need to bring our best efforts against.”

NOTES: MacKinnon’s 18-game point streak tied Peter Stastny (1981-82) for the fourth-longest run in Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques history. … MacKinnon’s season-opening 18-game home point streak set a new Avalanche/Nordiques record. … Nichushkin extended his point streak to seven games (six goals, six assists). ... Arizona defenseman J.J. Moser did not return after leaving at 3:13 of the second period with an upper-body injury following a hit from Miles Wood; there was no update on his status after the game.