So how will this Avalanche show play on the road?
That's the big question for now as they take this remarkable nine-game winning streak to Toronto, opening a three-game road trip on Monday against the Maple Leafs.
Jonathan Bernier, who played three seasons in Toronto, made 27 saves Saturday in a 3-1 win against the New York Rangers, extending his career-best winning streak to eight games in which he's permitted 11 goals.
It's the longest winning streak by an Avalanche goalie since Patrick Roy won 11 in a row from Jan. 12-Feb. 7, 1999.
"We're comfortable anywhere. Hockey's hockey," Hart Trophy candidate Nathan MacKinnon said before the Avalanche departed snowy Denver for games against the Leafs, Montreal and St. Louis.
Eight of the nine wins came at the Pepsi Center. The Avalanche (26-16-3) will play the next six games, 13 of 16 overall, on the road.
My game story for NHL.COM.
The Avalanche are 18-7-1 on home ice and 8-9-2 on the road -- 2-0-1 in the past three in enemy territory, 4-1-1 in the past six.
The one road game during the nine-game streak came Jan. 13 in Dallas, a 4-1 win against the Stars after both teams concluded their league-mandated six-day break.
"A big thing for us, that win in Dallas after the bye week, that's a really tough building to play in, and they've been really good at home this season and we got a big win," MacKinnon said. "We feel good about going on the road."
Coach Jared Bednar said he believes the Avalanche will continue to play the same way they have in putting together a 13-3-1 run since losing the first four games in December.
"There's no reason why we can't," he said. "There are different challenges that the road brings, matchups. You have the matchups that you want at home 90 percent of the time, and that'll change going into this road swing, and that has a lot to do with it.
"So other teams take a slight advantage, but I think our team can continue to play the same way. You're going into hostile environments with crowds that are behind their team instead of yours. There has to be that little extra in every aspect of your game in order to win, and that's what you're looking for.
"The positive thing for me was going into Dallas. We were in the middle of a winning streak and we continued to play the same way. Over the course of the first half of the season we weren't the same team on the road as we were at home. Our special teams weren't as good on the road as they were at home.
"So this is going to be a challenge, this is the next step for our team. We've gotten to a good spot and this is the next step proving we can do it in a different environment."
Erik Johnson said after the win against the Rangers, in which he had a goal and an assist, that he takes "a lot of pride" in helping to bring the buzz back to the Pepsi Center. He played 27:41 and was plus-3.
"When I think back, I got here when I was 22 years old and it seems very bizarre to me," he said. "I was a kid. Now I’m almost 30, and the years go by like that. It’s fun to see the light at the end of the tunnel and see where this team is going. I’m happy to be a part of it and want to be a part of it.…
The Avalanche haven't exactly clinched their first playoff spot since 2013-14, not with 37 games remaining, but Johnson expressed how happy he feels to have stuck it out during some very difficult times, last season being the worst.
"The way things went last year I think the easy thing to say would have been, 'It's not working out here, let's go somewhere else, let's jump ship,' " he said, taking a not-so-subtle swipe at, well, you know. "The character guys and the core guys in this room said, 'We want to figure things out here in Colorado and make it work.'
"I think we're starting to see some of that, but there's tons of work left to do and we're a long way from a playoff spot and we know that. It's just another step in the right direction."