MacKinnon, Avalanche top Stars, win sixth straight

DALLAS -- Alex Kerfoot had a goal and an assist, and the Colorado Avalanche extended their season-high winning streak to six games by defeating the Dallas Stars 4-1 at American Airlines Center on Saturday.

Nathan MacKinnon scored the go-ahead goal in the third period, and Blake Comeau and Mark Barberio scored for Colorado (23-16-3, 49 points), which surpassed its win and point totals from last season (22-56-4, 48 points).
Nikita Zadorov had two assists, and Jonathan Bernier made 27 saves for the Avalanche, who have their longest winning streak since they won six in a row March 25-April 5, 2014.
WATCH: [All Avalanche vs. Stars highlights]
"I think our guys are hungry to try and keep this thing going, so that's a big factor, and it showed tonight," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "We were disciplined, we were determined. I liked the compete level right off the bat. We had a good start and it carried for the rest of the game. Our guys were talkative on the bench. They played the game with emotion tonight. They're starting to come together as a team."
Jamie Benn scored, and Ben Bishop made 19 saves for Dallas (24-17-3), which like Colorado was playing its first game after a six-day break.
"We just didn't have that extra push that we've been having lately," Stars forward Tyler Pitlick said. "When you're not feeling great, we've got to find a way to make it happen anyways and find plays and play hard. So that's something we've got to figure out."

MacKinnon made it 2-1 on the rush at 6:33, beating Bishop five-hole for his 19th goal. Kerfoot had the primary assist, his 18th.
"I think that we're playing good hockey right now," Kerfoot said. "We've got confidence in our group. We're just doing the little things right now and we're finding ways to win, which is what good hockey teams do."
Comeau made it 3-1 at 18:20 of the third period, beating Bishop to the glove side.
"I don't think it was a terrible effort," Bishop said. "We did a pretty good job, we just couldn't find the back of the net. They got two there in the third where I've got to make a save."
Barberio scored into an empty net with 13 seconds remaining to make it 4-1.

Kerfoot had given Colorado a 1-0 lead at 14:09 of the first period. He carried the puck down the left wing and beat Bishop from a sharp angle, then went flying into the corner after losing his balance.
"I just lost my edge a little bit and went flying," Kerfoot said. "Before I shot it I was like, 'Jeez. This could be bad.'"
Avalanche forward Carl Soderberg had a goal overturned that would have made it 2-0 at 8:03 of the second period after it was determined Comeau interfered with Bishop behind the net.
Benn tied it 1-1 at 15:43 of the second period. John Klingberg took the initial shot after a drop pass from Alexander Radulov, and Benn beat Zadorov to a rebound in the crease.

Goal of the game

MacKinnon's goal at 6:33 of the third period.

Save of the game

Bernier's save on Antoine Roussel at 6:08 of the third period.

Highlight of the game

Kerfoot's goal at 14:09 of the first period.

They said it

"I think that our guys handled themselves properly. They got away. They got some rest. I know a bunch of guys put in a little bit of work to make sure that they had some legs here. Coming out of the bye week, yesterday's practice was really good. Today's morning skate was good. It was focused and we worked hard." -- Avalanche coach Jared Bednar on returning from a six-day break
"Well, I don't like commenting on the goalie stuff. They are the last line of defense. … If he feels he should have stopped it, he should have stopped it, but I just know you're not going to win a lot of games scoring one goal." -- Stars coach Ken Hitchcock on goalie Ben Bishop

Need to know

Colorado was 4-for-4 on the penalty kill; Dallas was 1-for-1. … The Stars won 40 of 59 face-offs (68 percent).

What's next

Avalanche: Host the Anaheim Ducks on Monday (3 p.m. ET; ALT, PRIME, NHL.TV)
Stars: At the Boston Bruins on Monday (1 p.m. ET; SN, NESN, FS-SW, NHL.TV)