Ducks can’t crack Bernier
Anaheim’s former goalie stops 33 shots in 3-1 win, Colorado’s seventh in a row.
DENVER — The save by Jonathan Bernier that sticks out the most was the one in which he simply stuck out his stick.
Out of sheer desperation, no less. To thwart what looked to be a sure goal, too. It’s just another sign of how well things have been going for the Colorado Avalanche.
Nathan MacKinnon kept up his torrid home scoring with a goal, Bernier turned back 33 shots and the Avalanche beat the Ducks 3-1 on Monday for their seventh straight win.
Matt Nieto and Colin Wilson also scored for the Avalanche, who are outscoring teams 29-10 in their longest win streak since 2005-06.
MacKinnon leads the league in scoring on home ice with 41 points (15 goals and 26 assists) in 24 games.
“We’re feeling good,” said MacKinnon, whose team is vying to make the playoffs for the first time since 2014. “For us, it’s so tight, we can’t get comfortable. We have to stay hungry.”
Bernier has been sensational since stepping into goal with Semyon Varlamov sidelined by a lower-body injury. Bernier came up big against his old team midway through the second period when he reached out with his stick to thwart Ryan Kesler. That set up a rush the other way, with MacKinnon scoring on a wrist shot past Ryan Miller.
“It happens quite a bit in hockey: You make a big save, you go to the other side and you score,” said Bernier, who has a career-best six-game win streak. “It was nice to be rewarded. You make a big save and you get a big goal.”
Chris Wagner had a goal in the second period for the Ducks, his first since Nov. 27. They pulled Miller with around three minutes remaining but couldn’t get anything by Bernier, who played in Anaheim last year.
“They skate really fast, for the most part, and they capitalized on their chances,” Wagner said. “We gave them too many chances off the rush and too many power plays. That hurt us.”
The Ducks were without forward Andrew Cogliano as he began a two-game suspension that ended his consecutive games streak at 830, the fourth longest in NHL history.
Cogliano, who had never missed a game in his career, fought back tears as he talked about the streak on FS West: “It’s a tough pill to swallow. I’m not going to lie. I miss the game.”
Coach Randy Carlyle downplayed Cogliano’s absence.
“You don’t like to put too much emphasis on one player being out of your lineup,” Carlyle said. “For Cogs, it’s unfortunate the suspension is in place. But we take our medicine and move on. It’s up to other people to step up and make a difference.”
Like forward J.T. Brown, who was just claimed on waivers from Tampa Bay and was in the lineup Monday. He had an assist as he digests a new system.
“You’re going to make mistakes. They said, ‘We’ll coach you through them. Don’t be afraid to make those mistakes. Just go out there and play,’ ” Brown said.