Excellent goaltending and offensive contributions from all four lines have defined the Avalanche’s five-game winning streak — the team’s longest since 2013-14, coach Patrick Roy’s rookie season.
Goalie Semyon Varlamov has been given the lead in all five games, including 2-0 advantages in four of them.
Varlamov has been red hot before — he generally lived there during Roy’s maiden season — but the balanced scoring is somewhat of a surprise, given that the Avs have stacked their top line with lottery draft picks Gabe Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Matt Duchene.
When the “Nine Line” was formed last month, the concern was having too many burgeoning stars together — and too many meat-and-potatoes guys on the other lines.
But lately, center Carl Soderberg and wingers Blake Comeau and Andreas Martinsen — all first-year Avalanche players who are definitely of the garden variety — have excelled in playing first-line minutes.
In addition to often playing against the opponent’s top line, the Soderberg trio has scored in each of the last seven games. That includes Comeau’s short-handed goal in Saturday’s 5-1 victory over visiting Edmonton, when Soderberg’s clearing pass sprung Comeau on a breakaway.
“I have a lot of confidence in them,” Roy said Sunday of the Soderberg line. “I’m not afraid to put them out in our zone for a faceoff. I’m not afraid to put them against top lines. They’ve been playing really well for us, and actually made the difference in some games.”
Soderberg was acquired from Boston last summer to serve as Colorado’s third-line center — Duchene and MacKinnon were pegged as the top two centers at the time — and Comeau was signed as a free agent from Pittsburgh to play right wing anywhere from the first line to the fourth. After parallel slow starts, the two newcomers have found their niche.
Martinsen is the bigger surprise. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Norwegian has flourished as a top-six grinder, a relentless forechecker and net hound with size.
“What I really like about him is his physicality,” Roy said of “Marty,” who is playing in his first year in North America after signing as an undrafted free agent. “He brings an element that we don’t have and a lot of teams are looking for.”
All four lines scored Saturday against the Oilers, including a power-play goal created from MacKinnon’s line. What has developed into the third line (based on minutes played) gave Colorado a 4-1 lead, with Jarome Iginla scoring off a pass from linemate Alex Tanguay. John Mitchell centers Iginla and Tanguay.
The Mikhail Grigorenko-centered fourth line received a goal from right wing Jack Skille to make it 5-1 against Edmonton, with left winger Cody McLeod getting the assist.
Colorado has outscored its opponents 16-5 during the five-game winning streak.
Mike Chambers: mchambers@denverpost.com or @mikechambers
TORONTO AT COLORADO 7 p.m. Monday, ALT; 950 AM
Spotlight on Michael Grabner:
The first-year Maple Leafs forward had two goals and four points in Toronto’s 5-0 victory at Los Angeles on Saturday, doubling his offensive production for the season. The Austrian also had a goal in his previous game, a 5-4 loss at San Jose. Grabner, 28, was a 2006 first-round draft pick of the Vancouver Canucks. He scored 34 goals for the New York Islanders in 2010-11 and is sitting on 99 for his up-and-down career.
NOTEBOOK
Maple Leafs:
They are on a five-game unbeaten streak (3-0-2) and defeated two of the Western Conference’s top teams, St. Louis and Los Angeles, by a combined 9-1. They played into overtime and beyond against New Jersey, Tampa Bay and San Jose. … The Maple Leafs pounded Colorado 5-1 on Nov. 17 in Toronto, with former University of Denver standout Tyler Bozak and former Avalanche forward P.A. Parenteau combining for three goals and five points. Parenteau scored two goals. … Goalie Jonathan Bernier got the shutout win at Los Angeles, improving to 1-8-3 this season.
Avalanche:
The Avs are a league-best 8-2 this month and on their first five-game winning streak since March 25-April 5, 2014. … Semyon Varlamov will start in goal Monday. He’s looking for his seventh consecutive win, which would be a career high. Varlamov has won six in a row four times. … Winger Jarome Iginla snapped a nine-game goal-less drought Saturday with his 598th goal. He’s looking to become the 19th NHLer to reach 600. … Winger Blake Comeau has two shorthanded goals, the most for an Avalanche player since Gabe Landeskog had three in 2012-13.
