Avalanche top Devils for eighth straight win, close in on Central title

DENVER -- The Colorado Avalanche won their eighth straight game, 3-1 against the New Jersey Devils at Ball Arena on Thursday.

Artturi Lehkonen had a goal and an assist, and Pavel Francouz made 26 saves to win his sixth straight start for the Avalanche (54-14-6), who have won five consecutive games at home.
"I was pretty happy. [Francouz] didn't have a lot of work tonight, especially down the stretch, but he makes the saves he needs to make," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. "He's a competitive guy, and he's been playing well for us. I would say he's been solid, doing everything and more that you're asking a backup to do."
With assists on Lehkonen's goal, Mikko Rantanen set his NHL career high with 88 points, and Cale Makar tied the Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques record for points (82) by a defenseman set by Steve Duchesne in 1992-93.

The Avalanche are first in the NHL, four points ahead of the Florida Panthers, and lead the Central Division by 16 points ahead of the Minnesota Wild.
"You play the game to win and if you're winning almost every game, it's a lot of fun," Francouz said. "Nothing beats the feeling after a whistle when you get the win and you can just enjoy it for a little bit with your fans. So I think that's why it's so much fun right now."
Jesper Bratt scored and Andrew Hammond made 25 saves for the Devils (26-42-6), who had won two straight.
"I thought we started the game really well. Didn't want to just give them opportunities, and I think we did a good job of that in the first period," Hammond said. "I think we gave ourselves a chance to win the game and just didn't get the next two goals, but it felt like we had chances, especially in the first period and then down towards the end in the third as well. But obviously the second period was the difference."
Logan O'Connor scored on a spin-and-shoot from the right circle to make it 1-0 at 3:07 of the second period.
"He was playing hard right from the drop of the puck," Bednar said, "It's almost like he got a little boost from all the [University of Denver] guys coming in and seeing his old teammates and stuff like that, but he was skating, competitive, winning races, battles. Drew a nice penalty hanging onto the puck, got rewarded with a goal, almost had another one. I thought he had a really good night."

Andre Burakovsky made it 2-0 after he beat Hammond with a wrist shot from between the circles at 7:45.
"I think [Hammond] was solid," Bratt said. "I think the goals that happened was a lot on our own coverage."
Lehkonen extended the lead to 3-0 after he finished a rebound from a Rantanen shot at 14:35.
"Guys were moving the puck great up top, and Mikko shot the puck. The rebound just fell under my feet, basically," Lehkonen said. "It's fun to get points and stuff, but as long as the team keeps winning, that's all that matters."
Bratt made it 3-1 at 11:39 of the third period when he scored a one-timer off a pass from Pavel Zacha.
NOTES: Defenseman Ryan Graves left the game in the third period after taking a skate to the chin. … The Devils have more than 41 regulation losses in a single season for the first time since 1986-87 (29-45-6). … Colorado extended its record with 30 home wins set on Wednesday with a 9-3 against the Los Angeles Kings. … The Avalanche's 63 home points tied their record set in 2000-01. …Lehkonen has four points (one goal, three assists) in his past two games.