After playing well but not seeing the results it wanted for many of the teams past few games, the Colorado Avalanche was rewarded for its hard work.

Colorado exploded for six goals in the second period and beat the Los Angeles Kings by a final score of 7-1 at Pepsi Center on Saturday afternoon.

Sarah Villegas was honored as a King Soopers military spouse of the Colorado Avalanche's game against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, but little did she know she was in for a big surprise.

After the Pepsi Center crowd gave Sarah a round of applause for her five years of service as a military spouse, she and her son Sebastian were directed to look up the aisle of her section to see her husband, Sergeant Taylor Villegas, had returned to American soil.

The Colorado Avalanche returns home from its season-long, five-game road trip today with a game against the Los Angeles Kings.

The outing opens the Avs longest homestand of the season, a five-game stay that will be broken up by the NHL All-Star Break and the Avalanche's bye week.

Following its longest road trip of the season, the Colorado Avalanche (21-18-8) faces the Los Angeles Kings (19-25-4) on Saturday afternoon in its first game at Pepsi Center since Jan. 4.

Colorado holds a 37-41-11 all-time mark against Los Angeles (since 1995-96), which includes a 22-19-2 record at home.

CENTENNIAL, Colo.--After the Colorado Avalanche's longest road trip of the season, the team returns home for its longest homestand of 2018-19.

The Avs will play their next five outings at Pepsi Center, a home stay that is broken up by the NHL All-Star Break and the club's bye week. They will open this next stretch of the season with a matinee contest against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.

OTTAWA, Ontario--It came down to determination for head coach Jared Bednar in the Colorado Avalanche's contest at the Ottawa Senators. Ottawa had it. Colorado did not.

"Effort isn't there at the start of the game, for whatever reason. There is nothing else to it," said Bednar. "You can't look past it. That is a prerequisite for everything else."

OTTAWA, Ontario--The Colorado Avalanche is following the old adage of if it's not broke, don't fix it.

Colorado won't make any changes to its lineup for tonight's contest at the Ottawa Senators after playing one of its stronger games of the season last time out on Monday versus the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Avs outshot the Leafs 38-20 and came back from a two-goal deficit to win 6-3.

OTTAWA, Ontario--The Colorado Avalanche wraps up its five-game road trip through Canada tonight in the nation's capital against the Ottawa Senators.

Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said following morning skate at Canadian Tire Centre that there won't be any changes to the club's lineup from its 6-3 win on Monday against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

In the finale of a five-game road swing through Canada, the Colorado Avalanche (21-17-8) takes on the Ottawa Senators (17-24-5) at Canadian Tire Centre on Wednesday. It is the second and last regular-season matchup between the non-conference opponents in the 2018-19 campaign.

Colorado has a 16-13-3 record in 32 all-time matchups against the Senators since the 1995-96 season, with a 7-8-1 mark as the visiting team. Gabriel Landeskog paces current Avalanche skaters with 14 career points (four goals, 10 assists) in 12 games against Ottawa, including a three-point outing (one goal, two assists) in the last matchup against the Senators on Oct. 26 at Pepsi Center.

The Avs return to Denver after the contest for its next five contests, starting Saturday at 1:00 p.m. MT against the Los Angeles Kings.

Spotlight On: Brandon Saigeon, C, Oshawa Generals (OHL)

Brandon Saigeon is tied for fourth in the Ontario Hockey League in overall scoring with 66 points (28 goals, 38 assists) in 43 appearances. He is currently on a 10-game point streak, which started while he was playing for the Hamilton Bulldogs and has continued since the Oshawa Generals acquired the center on Tuesday.

Saigeon, selected by the Colorado Avalanche in the fifth round (140th overall) of the 2018 NHL Draft, had spent three and a half seasons with the Bulldogs prior to the trade, generating 196 points (85 goals, 111 assists) over 214 regular season games.