Quick notes about the Avalanche's 4-2 win against Phoenix on Friday:
Semyon Varlamov made 40 saves in his first game since Russia's disappointing showing in the Olympics.
"I wasn't concerned about it," coach Patrick Roy said. "When I saw him after the Olympics, I saw a big smile on his face. I knew he was ready to bounce back. (Goalie coach) Francois (Allaire) had a couple meetings with him and he was well prepared for this game. The key was giving him the night off (Wednesday), give him the time to feel really comfortable."
Varlamov made 18 saves in the third period, nine on three Coyotes power plays.
"They came pretty hard in the third period," Varlamov said. "We sat back a little, but we scored two quick goals, which was really good. I think that was the key to the game. I didn't feel any pressure. I felt pretty good, actually. I think I played pretty solid hockey. The guys did a great job offensively. The goalie always likes it when the guys score lots of goals."
Gabriel Landeskog had a goal and two assists, Paul Stastny a goal and an assist, and Nathan MacKinnon had two assists to stretch his point-scoring streak to 10 games, the longest streak for an NHL rookie since Chicago's Jonathan Towes had a 10-game streak in October 2007.
"It's nice, but I've been playing with some really good players," said MacKinnon, who has five goals and nine assists in the streak. "I feel lucky to be on a winning team like this."
How about Nate Guenin, whose goal 48 seconds into the third period broke a 1-1 tie. It was his third goal in 80 career NHL games and his first since March 19, 2012 when he scored against San Jose while playing for Anaheim.
"It's about time," Guenin said. "Just good timing there. The puck slipped through and I kind of saw an opening. I got my new sticks and I got used to them yesterday, so I have to give them some credit. We wanted this one bad. We felt we let one slip away the other night. We really wanted these two points, especially in front of our home fans. We want this to be a tough place to play and the fans were rocking."
The Avalanche (38-17-5) is still third in the Central Division with 81 points, but just three points behind first-place St. Louis and second-place Chicago with one game in hand on the Blackhawks.
Who would have thought?