Colorado beat the Arizona Coyotes at Ball Arena in a bounce back win after losing five of six on the road.
The Avalanche were not in panic mode after dropping five of their last six games but very much needed a win back at home after their longest road trip of the season.
First period
Ross Colton got the Avalanche on the board first at 15:50 after beating Karel Vejmelka on a pass from Miles Wood behind the net. It was Colton's 12th goal of the season and Wood's 20th point.
The Avs could not get Alex Kerfoot off the puck and he managed to shoot it toward the net which got deflected. Alexandar Georgiev stopped it but couldn't hold on to it. Matt Dumba grabbed the rebound and shot it past the Avs netminder 7:48 into the first.
Mikko Rantanen was assessed a slashing penalty at 10:58 and Lawson Crouse capitalized on the man-advantage with a head-on shot that beat Georgiev to give the Coyotes the lead.
The Coyotes outshot the Avalanche 15-7 and ended the period ahead by one.
Second period
Jack Johnson ripped a shot over Vejmelka's shoulder to tie the game back up two-all at 14:40.
Logan Cooley wristed a shot straight down the lane which flew past Georgiev and to the back of the net to take the lead. The goal came right at the expiration of an Arizona power play at 10:08.
Eleven seconds later, Nathan MacKinnon — with a repeated effort — shoved the puck past Vejmelka after an initial save that got loose. The Coyotes challenged it for goaltender interference but lost and the goal stood.
MacKinnon has gotten on the scoresheet in all 26 home games this season which passed Bobby Orr (1974-75) for the second-longest home point streak to start a season in history. Wayne Gretzky's 40-game run in 1988-89 is the top of all time.
The 28-year-old elite forward also became the fastest Avalanche player (56 games played) to reach the 90-point mark in a season. Peter Stastny did so with the Quebec Nordiques (56 GP) in 1987-88.
The Avalanche had 20 shots on goal in the middle frame which ended with a three-all tie.
Third period
Two goals were called back for off-sides challenges — Yotes' Alex Kerfoot and Avs' Jonathan Drouin — to keep the game tied at three-all.
Drouin tipped a pass to Devon Toews who ripped the puck straight down the lane to give the Avalanche the lead at 13:17.
Colorado held on to the lead despite taking two crucial penalties after getting ahead. In total, the Avalanche had three penalties in the final period but came out the victors with a 4-3 win.
The total SOG for the Avs was 37 and the Coyotes had 30.