Hughes, a 24-year-old senior from Michigan, signed a one-year entry-level contract for the 2026-27 season, the Avs announced Saturday. He will also sign a professional tryout contract with the Colorado Eagles and join them immediately.

“On the ice, he’s a two-way, 200-foot player with and without the puck,” Michigan coach Brandon Naurato said. “Great hockey IQ. We play a similar style to the Avs, so I think he’ll fit in well. Off the ice, I think he’ll be a great fit in that locker room. He was a captain and great leader for us. Those guys tend to know how to act when they get in a room with the (Gabe) Landeskogs, (Cale) Makars and (Nathan) MacKinnons) of the world.”

Michigan’s captain this season, Hughes was the highest-profile undrafted free agent in college hockey. He finished the year with 22 goals and 57 points in 40 games for the Wolverines, including a goal Thursday night in their semifinal loss to the University of Denver at the Frozen Four.

“There’s really no words,” Hughes said about his time at Michigan after the Wolverines lost in double overtime Thursday night to DU. “It means everything. I tried my best to leave it better than I found it. There’s so many unbelievable people within Michigan hockey that have impacted my life in a positive way.”

He was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award and also earned first-team All-America honors. Hughes, like fellow Michigan alum Gavin Brindley, also won Big Ten player of the year, helping the Wolverines to the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tourney.

Hughes, listed at 6-foot and 185 pounds, was a star in college hockey for multiple years. He and Brindley were freshmen together in 2022-23 and played together for two seasons. Hughes finished his college career with 69 goals and 179 points in 150 games. The Wolverines made the Frozen Four three times in his four years.

“Oh my gosh, he changed the program,” Naurato said. “For him to come back this year, that’s a story we will be telling future players for years to come. He showed that you can come back and lead Michigan to championships, to Frozen Fours, while also making himself even more NHL ready.”

Hughes also spent three years with the Brooks Bandits in the Alberta Junior Hockey League.��He was the AJHL MVP in 2021-22, and spent two years as teammates with Avs prospect Taylor Makar.

He is the latest victory for Colorado in the UDFA market. The Avs have had great success with signing players like Logan O’Connor and Sam Malinski and helping them become key NHL contributors. Malinski, who signed a four-year, $19 million contract extension with the Avs in late January that begins next season, is represented by the same agency as Hughes.

Colorado’s quest for another Stanley Cup has led the Avs to trade away many prospects and draft picks, which both motivates the Avs to be aggressive in the UDFA market and makes the franchise an attractive landing spot, as evidenced by the success of some of their signings. The Avs have also added Penn State forward Matthew DiMarsico and Bowling Green defenseman Gustav Stjernberg as UDFA’s in the past month.

Sam Malinski, Hank Kempf and Matt Stienburg were there, with a couple other Cornell alums. Logan O’Connor and Sean Behrens were not in the building to watch the University of Denver Pioneers cruise past the Big Red in the first-round of the NCAA tournament, but the 5-0 victory is almost certain to come up again in the locker rooms of the Colorado Avalanche and Colorado Eagles in the near future.

Behrens won two national championships at DU in 2022 and 2024, but Malinski’s Big Red knocked the Pios out of the 2023 NCAA tournament. History lessons, especially with the NCAA tournament and the IIHF world junior championships, are common source material for chirps in an NHL locker room at certain times of the year.

With the NCAA hockey tournament in full swing, we’re going to borrow an idea from Nuggets writer (and Avs beat alum) Bennett Durando. Given that hockey has a more robust path for players to reach the professional ranks, we’re not just going to focus on the NCAA guys.

It’s a little tricky, but we’re going to classify this as “before North American pro hockey.” So playing in a pro league overseas as a young player will count, but the AHL will not.

So, who were the most accomplished Avs players in their younger days? Some of the names won’t be surprises, but a couple might be.

1. Cale Makar��

It’s a pretty interesting debate between the top two guys on this list, just like it can be an intriguing discussion at times about their value to the present-day Avalanche. Makar won the Hobey Baker Award as the best player in college hockey and helped UMass reach the Frozen Four. He also won the Hockey East Player of the Year and was an NCAA All-America selection. He also helped Canada win gold at the world junior tournament. Before that, he also swept every major award in the Alberta Junior Hockey League and helped the Brooks Bandits win the league championship twice.

2. Nathan MacKinnon

MacKinnon won the QMJHL and, famously, the Memorial Cup with the Halifax Mooseheads. He was the MVP of the Memorial Cup, which included outplaying fellow potential No. 1 pick Seth Jones. He wasn’t the MVP of his team before that — Jonathan Drouin was. MacKinnon also won the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and led the tournament in scoring, but he was a depth guy on the WJC team, and Canada did not medal.

3. Artturi Lehkonen

It’s a pretty good debate about third and fourth on this list, as well. Lehkonen played for Finland at the world junior tournament three times, and won a gold medal. He also won the Liiga Rookie of the Year and a bronze medal at the U-18 world championships. Lehkonen spent a year in Sweden before coming to North America, and he won both the Swedish Hockey League and the Champions League with Frolunda.

4. Martin Necas��

Necas was a more productive junior player than Lehkonen, but it shouldn’t be a surprise that Lehkonen has done so much winning at all levels of his career. Necas has done plenty of that as well, and he’d be higher if we included his Calder Cup title with the Charlotte Checkers. Necas won the Czech Extraliga twice and was named both the league’s rookie of the year in 2017 and MVP in 2018. He also won the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and led that tournament in scoring.

5. Nicolas Roy

Roy was a superstar in the QMJHL. He was named a first-team all-star twice and led the ‘Q’ in goals one year. He has a nice collection of international medals as well — gold at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, silver at the world juniors and bronze at the U-18 tournament.

6. Gavin Brindley

Brindley played for the Americans twice at the WJC, winning both gold and bronze medals. He also won silver at the U-18 tournament. He won Big Ten player of the year and earned NCAA All-America honors while at Michigan.

7. Valeri Nichushkin��

Nichushkin won a gold medal at the U-17 world championships and a bronze medal at the WJC. He also won rookie of the year in the KHLin 2012-13 with Traktor Chelyabinsk. During that season, he played in international tournaments with Igor Shesterkin (U-18) and Andrei Vasilevskiy (WJC) as the starting goalies.

8. Nazem Kadri��

Kadri won a silver medal at world juniors. He also played in the Ontario Hockey League with Kitchener, a team coached by Peter DeBoer, and was named a second-team OHL all-star.

9. Brock Nelson

Before he became an American Olympic champion, Nelson won bronze at the world junior tournament. He also had a strong career at North Dakota, winning the old WCHA twice and playing in the Frozen Four.

10. Logan O’Connor��

O’Connor won an NCAA championship with the Pioneers. He also won the Clark Cup in the USHL as captain of the Sioux Falls Stampede.

Honorable mentions: Devon Toews won the British Columbia Hockey League with Surrey before winning the ECAC and reaching the Frozen Four with Quinnipiac. Parker Kelly won the WHL with Prince Albert. Mackenzie Blackwood won OHL goalie of the year, made the all-rookie team and was a first-team all-star with Barrie.

Colorado scored twice with the man advantage Friday night and overwhelmed the Chicago Blackhawks in a 4-1 victory at United Center that would have been far worse were it not for some stellar work by goaltender Arvid Söderblom. With the win, the Avalanche reached 100 points became the .

Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas had three points each, and the Avs outshot the Blackhawks 49-20. Necas and Nazem Kadri scored on the power play.

“I feel like it’s an attack mindset,” Avs forward Brock Nelson said. “First couple, I think we did a really good job of just executing, bringing the puck to the net. … Just getting guys in the right spot and continuing to attack over and over and not getting stuck in the process.”

The Avs went into the break for the 2026 Winter Olympics with the worst power play in the league at 15.1%. Colorado is now 9-for-32 (28.2%) in March and 10-for-42 (23.8%) since the hiatus.

This was just a one-goal game after two periods, before Kadri’s power-play goal 36 seconds into the third and a Valeri Nichushkin insurance tally at 8:34.

The Avs worked on the exact play Kadri scored on — Necas sending the puck to MacKinnon near the net before he shoveled it across to Kadri in the right circle — during the morning skate.

“You watch a little video, (see) different tendencies and try to find a way to exploit it,” Nelson said. “Then just be prepared for those scenarios. … I mean, that was perfect execution on that goal. It was sweet.”

Colorado looked like the team that played a great hockey game two nights in the first period, and the opponent … did not look like the Dallas Stars. The Avalanche controlled the opening period, pretty much from the opening shift.

The Avs had 20 shots on goal, 32 shot attempts and 19 scoring chances, according to Natural Stat Trick. The Blackhawks had five shots on goal, just 12 shot attempts and six scoring chances.

Necas put the Avs in front at 13:19 of the first. MacKinnon got the puck to Nichushkin, who went right to the net but laid it off to Necas in the left circle for a one-timer that went off Chicago goalie Arvid Söderblom’s shoulder and across the goal line.

It was Necas’ 32nd goal of the year. MacKinnon collected point No. 112 on the play, which is now his third-most in a season, four shy of his second-best set last season.

Colorado had only one shot attempt on the power play in the first period, because it went in. Cale Makar faked a slap shot from the top of the zone, then slipped a pass to Nelson in the slot. He redirected it past Söderblom at 15:22 for his 31st goal of the year.

The Avs dominated most of the second period as well, but a strange sequence led to a Chicago goal. Colorado’s fourth line was near the end of what had been a great shift, but Gavin Brindley tried to leave the puck for a defenseman and head to the bench for a change.

The problem was that there wasn’t a defenseman waiting for it. The Blackhawks collected it and started a 2-on-1, which led to a shot off the left post behind Mackenzie Blackwood. Just as that line sent the puck towards the other end and did get off the ice, Chicago defenseman Sam Rinzel snapped it back the other way.

His partner Wyatt Kiser got behind the Avs, took a saucer pass from Ryan Greene and tucked one past Blackwood at 6:48 of the middle period.

“I think the process, besides that Pittsburgh game, has been good,” Avs forward Parker Kelly said. “I think against Dallas and this game tonight is just really everyone firing on all cylinders. You can see the chemistry building. It’s going to get better with the guys coming back into the lineup here in the next few days.”

FOOTNOTE: Gabe Landeskog, Artturi Lehkonen, Logan O’Connor and Ross Colton all skated Friday morning. Bednar said at least one of them could be ready Sunday against Washington, while all of them could play by the end of this four-game road trip.

No, no, no. Not the ones skating in Calgary. The ones circling around Lian Bichsel’s head after he messed around with Nazem Kadri.

While the Avalanche were taking a chainsaw to Anaheim,

About five minutes into the second stanza at the Scotiabank Saddledome, Bichsel, Dallas’ 6-foot-7 defenseman, pushed Kadri into the boards behind the net. Naz retaliated with his right elbow. As you do.

The two danced into the crease. Bichsel shoved the 6-foot Kadri, against whom he’s got an advantage of 7 inches in height and 46 pounds in weight, twice — until they were past the right post.

Naz had enough. He landed a left jab on the big lug’s jaw. Then a right cross with stick still in hand. The Swiss D-man dropped a quick 1-2 on Kadri’s head before a pack closed in to separate the pair.

Seven inches.

Forty-six pounds.

Ain’t the size of the dog in the fight.

It’s the size of the fight in the dawg.

Go get that dawg, Chris.

The NHL trade deadline expires just after lunch on Friday. As of late Wednesday afternoon, MacFarland, the Avs’ general manager, was still looking for a third-line or second-line center. And Kadri — one of the heroes of Colorado’s 2022 Stanley Cup champions, Denver’s favorite “bad” cop — was looking to join a playoff team again.

“We’ve had internal chats,” Kadri told NHL.com last month

“Obviously, those we’ll keep private, but, yeah, we’ve had discussions and communicated. I think that’s what makes it great, is having that open line of conversation and just being able to understand where everybody’s at.”

Kadri is 35 and on the fourth season of a seven-year, $49-million deal on a team going nowhere. The Avs (41-10-9) are the best team in the NHL.

They’re also in a heck of a position to get this generational core of MacKinnon-Makar-Landeskog another summer parade. If, of course, they can patch up some holes before the trade window shuts tight.

“Because other teams are doing the same. So if you don’t change, then you may fall behind,” Avs defenseman Josh Manson told me recently. “Obviously, it’s a risk upsetting (locker room) culture or whatever it may be. But I think you always have to be trying to fine-tune.

“And that’s up to management. I think (they’ll make) the best decision for our team moving forward because, at the end of the day, I think it reflects on them the most. Besides how the players and the way they play, how the team and what’s been assembled reflects on them.”

To that end, Kadri the player ticks a whole bunch of boxes. He’s physical. He’s scrappy. He’s clever. He’s persistent. He’s stubborn. He’s not just a pest. He’s a skilled pest.

Yeah, but …

Sure, Kadri’s scoring (41 points in 60 games as of Wednesday morning) is down from last season’s pace. But his face-off win percentage (47.9) is up, and a better clip than Parker Kelly (36.3), Ross Colton (46.2) and Gavin Brindley (38.2) have been producing to date.

Yeah, but …

Naz also hasn’t missed a regular-season game since leaving Denver as a free agent four summers ago.

Yeah, but …

I know, I know.

It’s … not … ideal. PuckPedia.com said Wednesday But three more seasons left on the books for Kadri, at $7 million per year? Woof.

Basically, if you’re the Avs, you’d be paying for the back end, and probably the worst end, of a deal the Kroenkes weren’t willing to give Naz three years ago — at the peak of his value. Unless someone else is willing to help offset those costs, that’s a tricky needle to thread for a 35-year-old forward.

Especially because Cale Makar is about to get paid. The best D-man in the world is eligible for an extension on July 1. And the next one should be a doozy, a deal that’s expected to hike his cap number from $9 million this season to $18 million or $19 million going forward. The eye of that needle shrinks by the day.

Still, a team with a 30-year-old Nathan MacKinnon, a 33-year-old Landeskog, a 34-year-old Brock Nelson, a 34-year-old Manson and a 40-year-old Brent Burns has kind of already laid its cards out for everyone to see. Whatever chips you’ve got left, you’re pushing them to the center of the table.

When he’s right, Naz is as chippy as they come. Remember 2022? The March To Lord Stanley is an HBO spin-off series in and off itself. To produce enough episodes to get you to June, you need compelling villains or anti-heroes who relish the smoke and keep the narrative moving.

It takes a village to win a Cup. Every series is a self-contained storyline waiting for someone to grasp the spotlight.

Four springs ago, Naz grabbed it by the thorax. If the ’22 playoffs were a “Game of Thrones” arc,

Jordan Binnington. Water bottles. Threats. Sweet revenge. They don’t get over the line without him. Or beat the Lightning in Game 4 of those Finals on that Florida slush pond.

According to longtime NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, Kadri has 13 teams on his no-trade list. Colorado isn’t believed to be one of them.

“I mean, you want to try and be as deep as you possibly can going into this (postseason), right? ” Avs coach Jared Bednar reflected late last month. “We like the guys we have. They’re all doing a great job, no question. If we can get deeper, stronger in certain positions, then I’m sure C-Mac and Joe (Sakic) and their staff will try and do that.”

Kadri has put up 11 points and four goals over his last 10 games vs. the Stars. Let that dawg in. Let him eat. In these playoffs, Naz Guys get the silverware. Nice Guys go home.

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Gavin Brindley and Cale Makar both snapped goal-scoring droughts and the Avs grinded out a 3-1 win against the Chicago Blackhawks. Makar scored twice, including one into an empty net, and Nathan MacKinnon had a pair of assists to help Colorado win for the second time in three games since a three-week break for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

“Yeah, that was a big one,” Brindley said. “Cale had a big goal at the end of the second, just to get us going. I thought we did a great job tonight. We controlled the pace of the game. I thought we were really good and probably deserved a couple more goals.

“That’s how it goes sometimes. Good job by the boys to finish it off.”

Sam Malinski’s second try from the top of the offensive zone created a rebound near the left post, and Brindley was there to pounce on it at 7:31 of the third period. It was Brindley’s sixth goal of the season, but his first since Dec. 11.

Brindley, acquired in an offseason trade from Columbus, had a fast start to his rookie season with Colorado, but had just two assists in his past 25 contests before this game-winning goal.

“This guy comes out every day and does the ‘goalie school’ shootings with me and (Scott Wedgewood). It’s an unforgiving job,” Avs goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood, who made 14 saves, said. “He’s got to get on the ice a little extra early, but it’s paying off for him. He’s getting his reps in, and he’s going to be a good player.”

The Avs had three power-play chances in the second period, and part of a fourth that carried over from the opening period. It was more than six minutes with the man advantage, but Chicago has the top-ranked penalty kill, and Colorado remains last on the power play.

The home side did not score with the extra man in the period, but Makar’s goal with 8.3 seconds remaining in the middle frame was spiritually a tally for the top power-play unit. Oliver Moore came out of the box seven seconds before the goal, but the rest of the Blackhawks on the ice were gassed from a lengthy PK shift, and the Avs took full advantage.

MacKinnon sent the puck from near the goal line to the left of the Chicago net to Makar in the right circle. He didn’t get close to max power on his one-timer, but placed it well, and goaltender Spencer Knight was moving the wrong direction as the puck fluttered past him.

“It was good,” Makar said. “I think we still would have got it in the third. It felt like we were grinding all the way from halfway through the first period into the second and doing so many good things. We just weren’t getting the right bounces.”

That was Makar’s 16th goal of the season, but his first in nine games for the Avs. While Makar earned all-tournament honors at the Olympics in Milan, he had no goals and three points in the past eight NHL contests, which is pretty easily the least-productive stretch of his season.

“I think I was more just hoping that it would be a power-play goal for us,” Makar said.

The Avs officially went 0-for-4 with the man advantage, and are now 2-for-35 on the power play since Jan. 12. Colorado has allowed four shorthanded goals in that span, though one was into an empty net.

“We wish we could score every single power play,” Makar said. “I think that’s what the fans expect. But for us right now, we’ve just got to continue building it. I feel like there were times tonight that we did good things. We did get puck movement and generated some opportunities.”

“I think that’s just going to come the more and more we continue to work.”

Connor Bedard put Chicago on the board first with a power-play goal. Tyler Bertuzzi got behind Devon Toews on a rush, so the Avs defenseman took a penalty to prevent a scoring chance.

It only took 21 seconds for the Blackhawks to capitalize. Bertuzzi sent a cross-ice pass to Bedard in the right circle, and the lethal release that helped make him the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL draft led to his 25th goal of the season. Colorado’s penalty kill reached the Olympic break ranked No. 2 in the league, but Utah, Minnesota and Chicago have combined to score four times with the man advantage in the past three contests.

Colorado held a 14-4 advantage in shots on goal through 20 minutes, but the Avs didn’t create many great chances in the period, either. Similar to two days prior against the Wild, the Avs found some mid-range scoring chances, but not a lot close to the net or plays where Knight had to be great to keep the puck out.

Makar’s empty-netter sealed the win for Colorado. After a 31-2-7 start, the Avs have struggled to regain their league-best form. This win got them back to “hockey .500” since the historic start at 8-8-2 in the past 18 contests.

The Avs had three days between an overtime loss Monday against the Toronto Maple Leafs and a Friday night tilt with the surging Nashville Predators at Ball Arena. Colorado had an optional practice Tuesday, a day off Wednesday and something closer to a full workout Thursday.

One player who might benefit from the mini-break is rookie Gavin Brindley, who is navigating his first season at the NHL level.

“It’s been kind of nice,” Brindley said. “I think just letting your body kind of reset, obviously, it’s been a lot of games in a short amount of time. I think it’s important to try to let your bodies recover as much as you can, even in a short span of days you have off. But yeah, it’s been great.”

The Avs added Brindley in an offseason trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets, and then he was one of the standouts of training camp, earning a spot on the NHL roster. This is just his second season as a pro, but he’s become a regular for the league’s best team.

Getting off to a strong start certainly helped Brindley establish himself as an everyday player. He had five goals and nine points in 19 games playing primarily as a fourth-line wing, but he’s also moved up in the lineup at times when injuries created openings.

There have been a couple of injuries, but he’s now played in 33 of Colorado’s 45 games.

“I don’t know, maybe a couple big hits I probably would have liked to shy away from, but it happens,” Brindley said when asked how he’s managed the first half of his first NHL campaign. “I think it’s been good so far. Just trying to learn with this group every day. A lot of experienced guys in here and guys that have a lot of stories, so just trying to pick their brains and just get better every day.”

Brindley has hit the first prolonged production slump of his NHL career. He had a goal and an assist on Dec. 11 in a win against the Florida Panthers.

He’s played in 13 of the team’s 14 games since, with no goals and two assists — both coming in the 4-0 win against his former club Jan. 10.

“I’m satisfied for sure,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “I think he’s a guy that can provide production. He’s gone a little bit cold here recently — different linemates, different amounts of ice time in some of those games. I can’t put it all on him.

“I still expect him to be a guy that can help us produce on a nightly basis and is highly involved. I still like his game away from the puck a lot.”

Given that Brindley has spent most of his nights on the fourth line, being a consistent producer on offense can be a challenge. In the 14 games he has played since returning from injury Dec. 11 against the Panthers, Brindley has had four games with 13:53 of ice time or better, but also four games where he didn’t reach double digits in minutes.

“I just keep playing,” Brindley said. “Keep playing the way I think I’ve been playing. Just keep playing hard and get up the ice as quick as possible and get to the net. I think when they come, they come. Obviously, guys are going to go through whatever droughts, and you may not score as much you’d like. I think (it is) just maybe getting a couple more shots on net, and just getting to the crease a little more.”

Brindley doesn’t turn 22 years old until October. It’s rare for a player with his skill set to become a full-time NHL player at 21, but almost exclusively in a depth role. Plenty of players like Brindley would have spent this season logging a ton of minutes at the AHL level.

The Avs have a deep NHL roster, but also a need with Logan O’Connor still not ready to return after offseason hip surgery and a second, lingering injury. It’s a veteran roster — fellow rookie Zakhar Bardakov is the next-youngest guy at 24, but he also spent five seasons as a professional in the KHL before arriving in Denver.

Bednar and his staff are cognizant of Brindley and the proverbial “rookie wall.” This little break might have helped with that. The forthcoming Olympic break might be helpful as well.

“Sporadic, but all of our coaches check in with him,” Bednar said of his interactions with Brindley. “It’s almost the same as any other player. I like to give him the respect of any other player, even though he’s a young guy. He’s played at a high level. He has a lot of talent. We know he fits in here. So we monitor his game, we go over things with him that are looking good, not looking good. Whatever it is, he’s been pretty consistent.

“It’s not all about just producing points. I want to make sure the other areas of his game are tight, and they are. The effort is still there. He’s a relentless player. To me, just keep doing those things and take care of your process, then the production will take care of itself.”

It turned into a day where the Colorado Avalanche stars took a back seat to some of the “other guys” as well.

Brent Burns scored twice, Trent Miner collected his first NHL victory and shutout with 29 saves and the bottom-six forwards were all over the scoresheet in a 4-0 win Saturday afternoon against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

“We got contributions from a bunch of different guys tonight,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “It’s how you win. If you want to win a lot, you’re going to win in different ways and different guys are going to be chipping in. That’s what our team has been doing a lot this year.”

The Avs have now won the first two contests of this season-long seven-game homestand. Colorado is halfway through its home slate this season, and is 19-0-2 at Ball Arena. The Avs have also won 17 straight here, which is one one shy of the franchise record set during the 2021-22 campaign.

Burns gave Colorado the lead at 13:58 of the opening period. Gavin Brindley took the puck off the wall after a nice pass from Valeri Nichushkin and to the net on a rush. During the ensuing scramble, the rebound of a sharp-angle Ross Colton shot kicked out to the inside edge of the right circle and Burns snapped one through all the traffic in front for his seventh goal of the season.

His second goal of the game and eighth of the year came with Colorado’s fourth line on the ice. Brindley and Zakhar Bardakov collected assists as Burns’ perimeter shot went off the goaltender, off a Blue Jackets’ defenseman and trickled across the goal line.

Burns is one of the great offensive defensemen on the 21st century, but his eight goals this year are already two more than his last season with the Carolina Hurricanes. He’s well-positioned to hit double digits for the 14th time in his career, and 15 for the ninth time isn’t out of the question.

His two-goal game came two days after his defense partner, Josh Manson, scored twice.

“I don’t think either shot was going at the net,” Burns said. “I wasn’t thinking about it. (Manson) even talked about it today, about how this game has a funny way of humbling you … we just talked about having a good game. It was lucky bounces, but it’s (also) forwards being in good spots.”

Colorado’s recently formed third line produced the next two goals after Burns’ opener. Parker Kelly, up from the fourth line because of an injury to captain Gabe Landeskog, won a battle along the boards to the right of Columbus goalie Elvis Merzlikins. He got the puck to Jack Drury, who made a crafty little pass to Victor Olofsson for a backhanded shot and his eight goal of the season at 17:28 of the opening period.

Olofsson, a shoot-first offensive player in his career, had gone 11 games without a goal, though Avs coach Jared Bednar has repeatedly praised his defense and all-around play in his first season with the club.

Ilya Solovyov scored his first career NHL goal to give Colorado a 3-0 advantage midway through the second period. Olofsson led the offensive rush out of his own end, before leaving the puck for Kelly. His cross-ice pass found Solovyov, the trailing defenseman, and he buried a wrist shot from the left circle at 10:30 of the middle frame.

It was the third straight game with a point for Solovyov. He had no goals and four assists in his first 25 career NHL games, but has a goal and two assists in his past three.

Solovyov played in nine of Colorado’s first 13 games this season while filling in for an injured Samuel Girard. Then the Avs’ defense corps got healthy, and Solovyov didn’t play for 63 days — a span of 28 games.

“It was unbelievable,” Solovyov said. “I was just happy for myself, proud of the work that I’ve done for the two months that I was not playing.”

Brindley, whom the Avs acquired from these Blue Jackets in an offseason trade, and Kelly both had two assists. Olofsson had a goal and an assist, while fellow depth forwards Drury and Bardakov added an assist each.

This was the fifth career NHL game and third start for Miner. He has been up from the Colorado Eagles for the past four games since Mackenzie Blackwood went on the injured list Jan. 2, but this was his first NHL start since a 4-3 overtime loss Oct. 26 in New Jersey.

“For sure, it’s exciting to get my first win, but I think for us to get another win at home is just as exciting,” Miner said. “I think it went really good. I mean, there were a lot of shots blocked tonight that didn’t get through, and I can’t thank them enough for that. There were a lot of point one-timers, point shots that guys were eating pucks all night for me. I was pretty fortunate to be behind that group.”

Mackenzie Blackwood was placed on injured reserve Friday with a lower-body injury, just the Avs are about to play three of the best teams in the Eastern Conference all away from Ball Arena. A team spokesman said Blackwood will be re-evaluated after this three-game road trip, which begins Saturday against Carolina and finishes Sunday at Florida and Tuesday against Tampa Bay.

Blackwood, who is 13-1-1 with a league-leading 2.07 goals against average and second-best .924 save percentage, played Wednesday night against St. Louis. He made 12 saves in a 6-1 victory and spoke to the media afterwards.

The Avs practiced Thursday, but Blackwood went on the ice briefly and left before the full session convened. Blackwood also missed training camp and the first three weeks of the season after having offseason knee surgery.

Colorado recalled Trent Miner from the Eagles to fill in. Miner made one start and relief appearance while Blackwood was unavailable earlier this year.

Blackwood is the most important Avs player who has missed time this season, but Scott Wedgewood’s outstanding play mitigated the issue. Joel Kiviranta was a late scratch against the Blues with a lower-body injury and Gavin Brindley left the contest with an upper-body issue.

The Avalanche recalled Talyor Makar, and he could play Saturday night against the Hurricanes if both of those forwards cannot go. The younger Makar brother has played three games for the Avs this season and 26 for the Eagles in the AHL in his first full professional season.

Sometimes a great story idea comes from an unlikely source.

There is no shortage of ways to describe the historic dominance of the Colorado Avalanche so far this season. The Avs secured the most points before the holiday break (which began in 1972), starting the season with a ludicrous 27-2-7 record.

Everyone in the hockey world has tried to assess who or what is most responsible for this freight train on ice. The options are plenty. The dominance has been thorough.

But who or what deserves more credit than they or it has been getting for this incredible Avalanche season? That is a tougher question to answer. Recently, a high school student posed that question to this writer during an interview for a school capstone project.

This writer stumbled through a few options before realizing, hey … that is a great question to pose to everyone on the team. So, shout out to Matthew at the Jeffco Remote Learning Program.

We posed this question to nearly everyone on the Avs roster, and to coach Jared Bednar. The answers are many and varied. Given how comprehensive Colorado’s success has been, that feels about right.

“Well, I know what is causing our success,” Bednar said. “It is the focus and the determination of the group. And I’ll take that a step further and put it on leadership, because whatever message they are sending before games, during games on the bench, it is the right one. That, to me, is the most important thing, and it has spread throughout our room. You could narrow it down a little bit to our leadership group, the guys that have been here and been through some heartbreak and are leading the charge, but so are some new guys. It����ap hard to give credit to any individual on a team like this.”

Here’s what the players had to say:

Mackenzie Blackwood: 62. He’s always good. He’s always the same guy. No one ever talks about (Artturi Lehkonen).

Gavin Brindley: I think everyone has been contributing. It����ap never just been one guy. Different guys contributing at different times, finding different ways to win. It����ap been a lot of fun.

Brent Burns: Every night is different, and I think there are a lot of guys who do. A guy like Jack (Drury), he does so many little things, little details on faceoffs that help the other guys out. (Parker Kelly) with his energy and his laughter, but he also creates a lot of space for guys on the ice. Jack (Drury) and (Parker Kelly) and (Joel Kiviranta) do the hard things.

Ross Colton: I feel like the leadership this year has been so much better. (Gabe Landeskog) obviously helps out. I think (Burns), having (Brock Nelson) back. Just the feeling in the room is so much better than it����ap been the last couple of years that I’ve been here. I just feel like we’re so much tighter this year as a group off the ice. It makes coming to the rink more enjoyable. It����ap definitely translating to the ice that we enjoy being here and want to battle for each other on the ice.

Jack Drury: Our superstars have been so good. It’s hard not to say them. I said this before, but Josh Manson is a really underrated player for us. He brings physicality, so good defensively and he’s got a lot of talent offensively too.

Parker Kelly: I’ll give you three answers. I think one is probably (Landeskog). I know he probably gets a lot of recognition, but sometimes I don’t think people know all the details in the game, and man, he just does it right every night. Hard on pucks, so huge in the room. It����ap been awesome to have him back and just learn from him. The next guy is Burns. Just great for the room, revamped the d-core a little bit. Another guy who does all the little things and is so hard to play against. And then someone who is definitely under the radar a little bit? I’d say Sam Malinski. We have a lot of great D, but he’s having a hell of a year and is so good at moving pucks. I don’t think it����ap talked enough about how good he is.

Joel Kiviranta: I feel like everybody is playing so good, it would be hard to pick. Maybe the goalies. They’ve been so good this year. When you have good goalies, it just helps you automatically. So I’d say the goalies. Both of them.

Gabe Landeskog: It truly feels like everyone, to be honest. (Scott Wedgewood) was huge for us that first month and still is. (Burns) has been a really good addition for us. (Josh Manson) has been playing really, really good hockey. I look up and down our lineup. I don’t even like calling them “depth,” but all these guys are the guys when we talk about being hard to play against. They make us hard to play against.

Artturi Lehkonen: Our goalies have been unreal for us. They are a big reason why we are winning so many games.

Nathan MacKinnon: I don’t think anyone deserves any credit, except for everybody, I guess. Everyone is pulling in the same direction this year, and we’re healthy. I think (Alexi Pianosi) doesn’t get a lot of credit, but I think we have the best strength coach in the league. He gets guys ready to play. I think we’ve had a lot of good starts because of how you get your body ready. We don’t have guys taking 10 minutes to get warm or get activated. Alexei has been amazing, and everyone has bought into his stuff, which is great. It����ap been a huge, huge help.

Cale Makar: That is a great question. Who is not getting enough credit? I don’t know if there is just one guy. I’ll go with … maybe Sam Malinski, maybe Parker Kelly.

Sam Malinski: A lot of credit goes to the core group of guys for the culture they’ve built. I give a lot of credit to (general manager Chris MacFarland) for assembling this team and finding a group of guys that����ap all very committed to winning. But also, it����ap a team game, and I think a lot of our success comes from everyone showing up every night.

Josh Manson: I feel like everybody is contributing. Maybe I would say (Landeskog). Is he putting up like a point a game right now? No, but the way he’s come back and how handles himself in the room. Everyone is on the same page. He’s a big part of that.

Martin Necas: Everybody talks about Landy, and that is well deserved. I will say C-Mac (MacFarland). I don’t know if he’s talked about as much. I don’t really follow the media, but I think he really did a great job in the summer. The guys that he has locked in, the guys like (Burns) that he brought. They have been great additions not just on the ice, but in the locker room as well.

Brock Nelson: There are a lot of really good answers for that one. I’m sure you’ve heard Landy’s presence, the goaltending. I’ll go with Nate and Cale. You always knew they were like the top of the top, but now I see the ins and outs every day. I know Nate gets a lot of credit, but he probably doesn’t get enough, honestly. He’s playing a different level of game than everybody else.

Victor Olofsson: I’ve been playing with Jack Drury for most of the games. I think he is a very, very underrated player. He’s so responsible out there and very good defensively. I think he also has really good upside in his offense, as well that people maybe don’t see as much. He’s a very smart player, sees the ice really well on the penalty kill. He’s one guy that maybe doesn’t get a lot of headlines, but brings a lot to this team.

Devon Toews: First off, (Brendan McNicholas, vice president of media relations). Not Joe (Sakic). Definitely not Joe. He hasn’t done anything.

Editor’s note: McNicholas may have been standing next to Toews, and Sakic may have walked by while he considered his answer.

I think we’ve had relatively good health for the most part this year. Obviously, the training staff helps with that, the equipment staff helps with that. All of the people behind the scenes that allow us to do what we do don’t get enough recognition, so they deserve a shout-out.

Scott Wedgewood: I would just say our detail. You watch the game, and we score a lot, and we don’t give up much. What does that mean? It means when we come back on an odd-man rush, and we’re backchecking, we sort it out, and we don’t give up a high-danger chance. A goal that sticks out in my mind was in Edmonton. (Connor) McDavid and (Matthias) Ekholm get back on a rush, they chase one guy, we feed the middle, and they get scored on. We are sorting that stuff out. It����ap our d-zone faceoff assignments, o-zone faceoff plays. We have a high-powered offense. Well, why? If we have numbers, we attack. If the fourth man has a step, he jumps in, and we get him the puck. It����ap the finer details of our puck play and our decisions. That����ap an elite thing that this team does. We give up chances, but what are we giving up? We’re able to give up the type of chances that (Blackwood) and I want. These are playoff details, and we’ve had them since Game 1.

For the third time this season, the Avs have faced a team riding at least a seven-game winning streak. For the third time, they ended it.

The Avs (26-2-7) came to the Twin Cities and put at least a temporary halt to the Minnesota Wild’s surge with a dominant 5-1 victory on Sunday at Grand Casino Arena.

Cale Makar, facing fellow all-world defenseman Quinn Hughes for the first time since he arrived in Minnesota via a blockbuster trade, had a goal, two assists and controlled the game at both ends of the ice. Brock Nelson, a Warroad, Minn., native, had a goal and two assists, Nathan MacKinnon scored twice and the Avs power play had one of its best days of the season in the win.

“For sure, I think it was a big (game),” MacKinnon said. “They played yesterday and obviously that’s tough. … We were definitely excited for this. Had a good meeting this morning and just wanted to go outplay them and get this win. We did that.”

The Wild, which had won seven straight — including four with Hughes in the lineup after a Dec. 12 trade with Vancouver, did play Saturday afternoon here in St. Paul against the Edmonton Oilers. And the Avalanche looked like a team prepared to take advantage of that, particularly after losing 3-2 here on Nov. 28 in a shootout.

That loss snapped Colorado’s 10-game winning streak, which is the longest in the league this season. There have been six other runs of seven-plus wins, and Colorado has stopped half of them.

Minnesota goaltender Jesper Wallstedt also said, “it kind of says that we’re a better team than them” after the shootout win here last month. MacKinnon said he didn’t know anything about that quote, but the .

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"It is what it is, just extra motivation for us," Makar said of Wallstedt's quote. "I don't think anybody really cares or really talked about that. ... We knew that this was a big game. Our guys were excited and got ready for it."

Martin Necas gave Colorado the lead with the lone goal of the opening period. Colorado's top line, which included captain Gabe Landeskog instead of Artturi Lehkonen, cycled the puck in offensive zone before Makar found Necas for a one-timer in the right circle at 18:28 of the period.

That was part of a strong push by the Avs in the final couple minutes of the first period, and it carried over to the second. Colorado had 34 shots on goal by the second intermission, and a three-goal advantage.

Both goals came on the power play. Nelson set up MacKinnon for a one-timer from the inside of the right circle at 13:37 of the second. MacKinnon added an empty-net tally as well. That gives him a league-leading 30 goals and 61 points this season.

MacKinnon is the first player to reach 60 points in 35 games for the franchise since it moved to Denver. It happened three times while the club was in Quebec City.

"It doesn't surprise me," Makar said. "He finds different ways to elevate every night. It's pretty spectacular to be a part of that."

Gavin Brindley drew a pair of penalties on Marcus Foligno shortly after that, and the Avs were able to cash in on the second infraction. Makar scored from the top of the zone, with Landeskog and Necas providing a screen, at 18:33 of the second.

Colorado entered the day ranked 28th in the league on the power play with a 15.3% conversion rate. The Avs had 17 shot attempts and 11 shots on goal during 6:16 with the man advantage, easily better than their typical per-minute output this season.

"I don't think it's been that bad lately, but a couple went in," MacKinnon said. "It's just hard when you go 0 for 1, 0 for 2 and it's, 'Here we go again.'

"It was nice that we had a really good first power play and then obviously got a couple in the second. The process was great too -- it wasn't just a couple of bounces."

The Avs had five shots on goal early in the third period and it looked as if they might put a crooked number on the Wild, but Ryan Hartman got Minnesota on the board at 5:15 of the final period with a rebound goal. It came after Minnesota had hit the iron behind Mackenzie Blackwood twice earlier in the shift.

Nelson ended any doubt with a one-timer at 15:53 of the third, scoring on the Avs' 40th shot of the game. It was Nelson's 14th goal of the season, and the three points gives him 25 in 35 games.

Makar's three-point day helped him regain the outright lead for points by a defenseman. Columbus' Zach Werenski had pulled even with him at 40 coming into Sunday.

"This is a good measuring stick game for us," Avs coach Jared Bednar said. "They're important points. Games against Minny, games against Dallas, the teams we are trying to stay ahead of.

"I think it's required that you give a little bit more than you do in a normal game and I would say to a man tonight we did that."