The Avalanche had every reason to have a tough time coming out of the Olympic break. Not only did they have eight Olympic participants and four of them play in the gold medal game, but the schedule makers did them no favors. Colorado had five games in the first seven nights, which included two back to backs.

After defeating the Anaheim Ducks 5-1 at Honda Center on Tuesday, the Avs improved to 4-1-0 in that stretch, and will carry a three-game winning streak into Friday’s trade deadline, followed by a matchup against the red-hot Dallas Stars later that evening.

Parker Kelly had two goals, while Martin Necas, Gabe Landeskog, and Cale Makar each added one. Makar also recorded two assists, as did Brock Nelson and Jack Drury.

Scott Wedgewood made 27 saves, capturing his first road win in two months. Colorado improved to 41-10-9 and continues to pace the NHL.

Anaheim got the first two looks, one of which was on a breakaway, early in the first period. Wedgewood stood tall. He was also key in helping the Avs kill off two consecutive penalties in the first seven minutes. Once they weathered that storm, they slowly started to take over bits and pieces of the game.

“I think they had the first five or six scoring chances in the game,” head coach Jared Bednar told traveling media. “But I would say after the first 10 minutes of the game, I was not just happy, but really happy with the game.”

The first goal came from Makar at the 11:33 mark. The superstar defenseman collected a pass from Nelson, circled the zone, regained control of the puck, and beat Lukas Dostal from the slot. His 18th of the season was also his third goal in three games. Makar has six points in that stretch.

Less than two minutes later, Colorado went on the power play, as Jacob Trouba was whistled for tripping. Just 55 seconds into that man advantage, Necas blasted home a one-timer from the top of the left circle that went bar down off a Nelson feed. His second PP goal in as many games was also his league-leading fifth since the Olympic break.

The Avs took that multi-goal lead into the intermission. At 4:50 of the second, Cutter Gauthier got the Ducks on the board. But before Anaheim could tie things up, Kelly scored to make it 3-1 at 15:03, sending the Avs back into the break with another two-goal lead.

It was all Colorado the rest of the way. Wedgewood stopped all 12 shots he faced in the final frame, while Landeskog scored a one-timer assisted by Nathan MacKinnon before Kelly put one into an open net off a feed from Drury.

MacKinnon’s assist gave him 100 points in 59 games, becoming the second player to reach the century mark. He accomplished the feat in one fewer game than the 60 games it took Connor McDavid to get there.

Good: Full Team Effort

I originally wanted to use this space to highlight MacKinnon’s century mark accomplishment. But after Kelly scored his second goal, I thought it would be better to give him his flowers for reaching 15 goals in 60 games.

Then I realized Gabe Landeskog had scored yet another beautiful one-timer goal, getting six points in the five games since the break. Or Nelson for being a key setup man. Then there was Makar, who had three points and is slowly climbing back up the ranks among the blueliners. But don’t forget about Wedgewood. He hasn’t played much lately, and this was his first road win since Jan. 3.

Then I realized: All of these things deserved recognition. In a stretch where Joel Kiviranta and Artturi Lehkonen both sustained injuries, the Avs still let their depth do the work. They got help from up and down the lineup to defeat the Anaheim Ducks.

They even got a power-play goal.

Bad: Schedule Makers

I’m not sure how or why the Avs had to play five in seven nights. I genuinely don’t remember the last time I’ve ever seen it, if ever, for this club.

Yes, it’s an Olympic year, and sure, things are compacted. But under no circumstances should any team ever play more than four games in a seven-day stretch. It’s a good thing this part of the schedule is over. Now it’s two days rest before an every-other-night cadence for the rest of March.

I’m sure the players will appreciate that much more.