Avs Look To Build New Streak

MONTREAL--It was good run while it lasted, and the Colorado Avalanche now looks to build another one.
The Avs' 10-game winning streak came to an end on Tuesday night at Bell Centre as they lost 4-2 to the Montreal Canadiens. It was the team's first defeat since losing on Dec. 27 to the Arizona Coyotes.

"The streak, a lot of people were talking about it, but for us it was really just one game at a time, trying to pick up points because we're in a race to get in and stay in the playoffs," said defenseman Mark Barberio. "We got to forget about this one, reset and focus on St. Louis."
Colorado's streak was the second longest in franchise history and the longest this season in the NHL. Only the 1998-99 Avs squad had a longer one when they picked up 12 straight wins from Jan. 10 to Feb. 7 of that campaign.
The Avalanche was playing its eighth back-to-back set of the season on Tuesday and in the second hockey-crazed city in Canada in as many nights. The team defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 on Monday night.
Head coach Jared Bednar said he was proud of how his club performed during the recent stretch of games, but many of his players looked fatigued versus the Canadiens.
"You know, it was a good run. It's over, we got to move on," Bednar noted. "We looked like we were out of gas tonight. That is what it looked like, that's how we played. They were more determined, more physical. They won more battles and doubled us up in almost every category in the game."
The Canadiens took a 3-0 lead before the Avalanche tallied in the final frame. Nathan MacKinnon scored on a wrist shot that saw the puck find its way through traffic at 14:11 of the third, and J.T. Compher netted another with 12 seconds remaining.
Montreal outshot Colorado 40-22.
"I thought we showed little signs of life in the third period, trying to push," Bednar said. "We just didn't have it tonight. It is what it is. We just have to turn the page, streak is over and move on to a good day of rest tomorrow and get ready to go for a tough team in St. Louis."
Goaltender Jonathan Bernier made his 10tn consecutive start and saw his nine-game winning streak also come to an end. The streak is tied for the second longest in franchise history with Stephane Fiset's run from Oct. 18 to Nov. 18, 1995. Patrick Roy holds the record with 11 straight wins from Jan. 12 to Feb. 7, 1999.
"Even on that winning streak, I was just focused and going day by day, not really worrying about how many we won or things like that," Bernier said. "That is when you kind of add pressure as a group. I was just focusing on the process and playing my own game."
Colorado has made up ground in the standings compared to where it was four weeks ago, but the team is still in eighth place in the Western Conference and holding the second wild-card spot. However, the Avs do have several tiebreakers in their favor.
The Avs next opponent, the St. Louis Blues, is four points ahead of them in the standings, but they've played three more games than Colorado.
"We all see the standings," Bednar said. "We had a great run, 10 games and it hasn't moved us up the standings that much. We're just sitting right in the thick of things. There is a lot of hockey to be played."

BERNIER GETS THE START

There was no rest for the weary for Jonathan Bernier as the netminder got the start on Tuesday night in Montreal after guarding the Avs' goal on Monday in Toronto.
"I felt pretty good actually for a back-to-back. I just think as a group, we weren't ready," Bernier said after the contest. "It's not the way you want to end the streak, especially in your hometown, but we got to move on. We got to be better in St. Louis. We got to know why we lost tonight and why we won so many in a row."
Bernier is from Laval, Quebec, which is a suburb of Montreal. He made 36 saves overall and 14 while Colorado was shorthanded.

"Berns was good," Bednar said. "They had some good looks, especially on their power play. Their power play was dangerous tonight, and he stood tall in there and gave us a chance to win."
The loss for Bernier was his first since Dec. 16 versus the league-leading Tampa Bay Lightning.

QUEBEC HOMECOMING

It was a night of firsts and reunions for several of the Avalanche players from the province of Quebec.
Colorado rookie Samuel Girard was playing in his first NHL game in Quebec and had plenty of support in the crowd. The 19-year-old is from Roberval, a city of just over 10,000 people about five hours north of Montreal, and he said he had between 200 to 400 supporters at the contest.
"It's fun to play in front of my family and friends," Girard said. "It was a fun game for me. It wasn't the result that we wanted, but it was a pretty fun game."

The contest also marked Montreal native Mark Barberio's first game back at Bell Centre since the Avalanche claimed him on waivers from the Canadiens last season. Barberio, who joined Colorado on Feb. 2, 2017, played his former club five days later in Denver, but Tuesday was his first outing back at the arena he called home for two seasons.
"I was definitely excited to play this one," Barberio said. "I'm from here and I used to play for the opposing team, so I was definitely really excited. Too bad we didn't get the result that we wanted, but there is another game on this road trip."
Other than Bernier, a Laval native, the Avalanche has two other players from the province of Quebec in Gabriel Bourque of Rimouski and A.J. Greer of Joliette. Bourque played in the 11th straight game, while Greer was a healthy scratch.