Avalanche End Canadiens' 12-Game Point Streak With 4-1 Win in Montreal

The Colorado Avalanche beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 on Saturday night at the Bell Centre, ending the Canadiens' 12-game point streak and handing Montreal its first regulation loss since 14 October — all without injured stars Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar.

Key Points

• The Avalanche beat the Canadiens 4-1 on Saturday, 14 November 2026, at the Bell Centre, ending Montreal's 12-game point streak (9-0-3).
• Former Canadien Artturi Lehkonen scored his team-leading 15th goal and added an assist; Brock Nelson, Fedor Svechkov and Nicolas Roy (empty net) also scored.
• Colorado played without Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, hurt on Thursday in a 4-3 overtime loss to Ottawa; MacKinnon is out at least a month, Makar about two weeks.
• Nick Suzuki replied for Montreal with a spin-o-rama goal, his eighth of the season; Jakub Dobes made 23 saves.
• Montreal falls to 12-4-4 and Colorado improves to 12-6-3; Mackenzie Blackwood made 25 saves.

What Happened

Colorado set the tone early. Brock Nelson made it 2-0 at 15:55 of the first period, and the Avalanche carried that lead into the middle of the game against a Montreal side that had not lost in regulation in a month. Suzuki's spin-o-rama goal — his eighth of the season — cut the deficit and brought the Bell Centre crowd to life.

The answer came quickly. Lehkonen, the former Canadien, scored on the power play 4:14 into the third period to restore the two-goal lead at 3-1, Roy added an empty-net goal to seal it, and Blackwood's 25 saves kept Montreal's late pressure from becoming a comeback. For Montreal, it was the first regulation defeat since 14 October at Washington — the end of a run that had carried the Canadiens to the top of the Atlantic Division.

Background: A Streak Built on Comebacks

Montreal's streak was built on comebacks. On 3 November, Winnipeg stunned the Canadiens 5-4 in overtime at the Bell Centre after Montreal had led 4-0 — yet even that defeat came after regulation, so the point still counted. The Jets needed four goals in the final 2:39 of regulation to force overtime against Montreal that night, a measure of how hard the Canadiens had been to beat. Nine days later, Montreal scored five straight goals to beat Boston 5-2 at TD Garden, snapping the Bruins' seven-game home winning streak and stretching the point streak to 12 games.

The Avalanche, meanwhile, arrived in Montreal wounded. Thursday's 4-3 overtime loss to Ottawa had cost them MacKinnon and Makar, the two players around whom the team is built. MacKinnon is expected to miss at least a month, Makar about two weeks, and the question hanging over the trip was simple: could Colorado win a big road game without them?

Avalanche Beat Canadiens 4-1: Depth Does the Job Without the Stars

The answer was emphatic. Lehkonen, who knows the Bell Centre well after his years in Montreal, scored his team-leading 15th goal and added an assist. Nelson's first-period goal gave Colorado something to protect, Svechkov added another, and Roy's empty-net finish closed the door.

It was a team win in the truest sense. Without MacKinnon and Makar, the scoring had to come from across the line-up, and it did. Blackwood's 25 saves kept Montreal at arm's length, and the Avalanche's structure held up in a building where visiting teams are so often swept away by the noise. The result lifts Colorado to 12-6-3 — and winning a game like this, on the road, against the hottest team in the league, is the kind of result that holds a season together while stars recover.

Reactions and Quotes

No post-game quotes were carried in the reports of the game, but the numbers told the story plainly enough. A team missing MacKinnon and Makar does not expect to walk into the Bell Centre and end a 12-game point streak, yet Colorado did exactly that, with four different goal scorers and 25 saves from Blackwood.

The loudest statement belonged to Lehkonen. His power-play goal early in the third period, restoring the two-goal lead at 3-1, was the moment the game turned for good. Montreal had momentum after Suzuki's goal. Lehkonen took it away — against the club that drafted him, on the ice where he made his name.

Why It Matters

For Montreal, the streak was more than a number. Twelve games without a regulation loss had carried the Canadiens to the top of the Atlantic Division and turned a young team into one of the season's early stories. Ending it at home, 4-1, is a reminder of how thin the margins are: one quiet night in front of goal, and the run is over. The Canadiens fall to 12-4-4 — still a strong record, but the streak is gone, and the next one has to be built from scratch.

For Colorado, the win matters in a different way. The fear was that the season could slip while MacKinnon and Makar recover. Instead, the team went into the loudest building in the league and beat the hottest team in the league. Colorado's last big test ended very differently, when Columbus routed the Avalanche 7-2 on 3 November, and the contrast shows a team learning to win without its stars. The wider picture matters too: Montreal's streak had been the NHL's longest-running story of the autumn, and its end resets the Atlantic Division race.

What Happens Next

Colorado's challenge now is to keep winning while MacKinnon and Makar recover. A month without MacKinnon is a long stretch, and two weeks without Makar is not short either, but nights like this one show the Avalanche have the depth to cope. Lehkonen leading the team with 15 goals, Nelson scoring in big moments and Blackwood holding the net steady give the coaching staff real options while the stars are out.

Montreal, meanwhile, has to start again. The Canadiens have been one of the best teams in the league for a month, and one loss does not change that. Suzuki's eighth goal suggests the captain is in form, and Dobes has been steady in goal. The building blocks are all still there — the next streak starts with the next game.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the final score between the Avalanche and the Canadiens?
Colorado beat Montreal 4-1 on Saturday, 14 November 2026, at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

How long was Montreal's point streak?
Twelve games (9-0-3). It was Montreal's first regulation loss since 14 October at Washington.

Who scored for Colorado?
Artturi Lehkonen (his team-leading 15th goal), Brock Nelson, Fedor Svechkov and Nicolas Roy, who scored into an empty net.

Why were MacKinnon and Makar out?
Both were hurt on Thursday in Colorado's 4-3 overtime loss to Ottawa. MacKinnon is out at least a month and Makar about two weeks.

Who scored for Montreal, and who was in goal?
Nick Suzuki scored with a spin-o-rama goal, his eighth of the season. Jakub Dobes made 23 saves for Montreal, and Mackenzie Blackwood made 25 saves for Colorado.