After a difficult stretch with one win over the last five games, the Colorado Avalanche entered their Wednesday night contest looking for some traction before heading into the short holiday break.
It was tough, but the team did just that, holding off Montreal in a 2-1 victory in which all the hallmarks of their currently style of game were clearly on display.
First up was a delay of game penalty, which gave Montreal an early — and ultimately successful — power-play, continuing the Avalanche’s penalty and penalty kill troubles. Brendan Gallagher scored on a long shot through traffic at 5:43 in the first, and the Avalanche failed to convert on their own power-play opportunities later in the period to head into the first intermission down by a goal.