In case anyone wondered, this is the kind of attitude the Avalanche has developed in the first five weeks of what is turning into quite a magical season:
"We're 12-1, now let's make it 13-1," rookie Nathan MacKinnon said Saturday night after the Avalanche retired former defenseman Adam Foote's No. 52 jersey and scored three third-period goals to defeat the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 before an overflow crowd of 18,152 at the Pepsi Center.
The Avalanche has tied the 1994-95 Quebec Nordiques for the best start in franchise history, but no one is satisfied.
"It seems difficult, but it is not in reality because we are focused on what we have to do," Avalanche coach Patrick Roy said. "That's what we control. It's what we've been saying all along. What we control is the way we want to play, the focus is to be prepared before the game and how we approach those games."
Captain Gabriel Landeskog, who had a goal and an assist Saturday, said that he and his teammates are certain they can play even better.
"We certainly do believe in ourselves," he said. "We believe in what we can do here. We're doing it together every night. We're facing new tests every night and I think we're doing a good job of handling that and we're growing as a team. But we haven't done anything yet. We're just getting going."
The Avalanche and Canadiens could have been sluggish after both played Friday night, but they put on a good show. Jean-Sebastien Giguere was solid in goal for the Avalanche and Peter Budaj strong in net for the Canadiens.
It took a goal from Landeskog at 11:14 of the second period to break a scoreless tie. He hammered a shot from the left circle over Budaj's right shoulder for his fifth goal, all of which have come in the past seven games.
"I just wanted to let it rip," he said. "I hadn’t had too many shots in the game before that so I just wanted to get some pucks at the net and get it going. I don’t know if it got tipped or not, but I got it where I wanted it.…
The Canadiens tied the game when Brendan Gallagher converted the rebound of P.K. Subban's shot at 3:38 of the third period, 35 seconds after Max Talbot went off for slashing. The Avalanche had killed two previous Canadiens power plays and 22 penalties in a row covering parts of six games.
That's when the Avalanche, Roy said later, "stepped our play up another notch" and used goals from MacKinnon and Ryan O'Reilly 3:30 apart to break the tie. PA Parenteau scored into an empty net off a pass from Matt Duchene with 37.9 seconds remaining.
*****
When Alex Tanguay sustained a knee injury in the second period, Roy moved MacKinnon from center on the third line to right wing on a unit with Landeskog and Paul Stastny. It paid off when Landeskog set up MacKinnon for what proved to be the winning goal.
"We lost Tanguay and it was a big loss for us," Roy said. "Nate came in, we put him on the right side and it was a great shot by Landy and a rebound by (MacKinnon). That's a big goal. It's good for his confidence and it's good for our team."
Roy said Tanguay will undergo an MRI on Sunday or Monday to determine the seriousness of the injury.
MacKinnon put the Avalanche ahead 2-1 at 8:01 after Landeskog fired a hard shot while skating down left wing. Budaj made the stop, but the rebound bounced into the slot and MacKinnon knocked it home for his second goal of the season, first on home ice and first in eight games since Oct. 12 in Washington.
"Kind of broke my mini-slump, I guess," MacKinnon said. "I tried to drive the net and (Budaj) made a kick save in our favor, I guess. It went to my stick and I was able to put in."
O'Reilly made it 3-1 at 11:31 on a wraparound when he gained possession behind the Canadiens net after Subban bobbled the puck. It was his first goal in five games.
"I thought it was a great hockey game to watch," Roy said. "There was a lot of up and down, good scoring chances on either side. The goalies had to make big saves and there was great play by everybody."
*****
Giguere, 36, finished with 29 saves for his fourth win in as many starts during which he's allowed a total of three goals. His goals-against average actually rose, from 0.67 to 0.75, and his save percentage went from .981 to .977.
"He's playing like he's 25 years old," Roy said.
Giguere prefers to credit the Avalanche defense for blocking shots and clearing rebounds, but he did say: "We made it a point that goaltending would not be an issue this year. So far, so good. Hopefully we can keep this going."
*****
The Avalanche put on quite a show when it came time to honor Foote, who was joined by his wife Jennifer and their two sons, Cal and Nolan. The ceremony lasted about 30 minutes and included video highlights of his career.
Foote received a standing ovation when he was introduced by Joe Sakic, who is now the team's executive vice president of hockey operations. Sakic said Foote "is and always will be a Colorado Avalanche at heart and we want our players to play with the same passion and commitment as he did."
Foote was presented with two paintings, one of himself in an Avalanche uniform and the other of an outdoor rink with the Rocky Mountains in the background.
Foote became emotional near the end of his speech when he thanked his parents, who attended along with his two sisters and several relatives and friends. He drew a loud ovation from the crowd when he thanked fans for providing energy to the Avalanche during games, "especially when we kicked Detroit's (butt)," he said.
Though Foote said he didn't care for the No. 52 he was assigned as a rookie with the Nordiques, his father reminded him that he wore No. 2 as a youth and No. 5 in junior. "He said they were really lucky numbers and to keep them," Foote said. "I guess they turned out to be lucky numbers after all."
Foote became the fifth Avalanche player to have his number retired. He joined Ray Bourque (No. 77), Roy (No. 33), Sakic (No. 19) and Peter Forsberg (No. 21).
"When these guys played, I looked up to them," Foote said. "I enjoyed watching these guys play. Every night I was a big fan of those guys. When you win a championship you have a special bond with those guys forever. All of us held each other accountable when we needed it. You can't win a championship without that. We'll all hold a special bond forever. I was so glad and happy that my number is up beside theirs."
Four former defensive teammates -- Bourque, Randy Velischek, Alexei Gusarov and Ryan Wilson -- carried the banner with his name and number onto the ice before it was lifted to the rafters.
Former teammates Forsberg, Milan Hejduk, Rick Berry and Scott Parker also attended.
*****
Roy said he turned nostalgic while talking with Sakic after the ceremony while Avalanche players warmed up wearing No. 52 jerseys.
"Wow, we had something special here," Roy said. "I guess when you reflect about it and you start to think over time, those eight years were really wild. They were very special and I guess I understand why it's hard for our fans to move on, but the way our guys are playing right now, I think they're starting to give them a second wind, something again that they can come and watch. I'm sure if you ask those 18,000 who came tonight, none of them did not enjoy the game."