CHICAGO — The Colorado Avalanche enters the NHL’s three-day Christmas break coming off what might have been its best game of the season. If nothing else, Friday’s 2-1 overtime triumph over the Western Conference-leading Chicago Blackhawks was a character win and impressive on multiple fronts:
— Colorado started strong, had significant scoring opportunities and didn’t have any major defensive breakdowns.
— The effort came a night after a 6-0 drubbing at home by the rebuilding Toronto Maple Leafs, with the Avs settling in at their Chicago hotel at 3 a.m. Friday.
Those things said, it doesn’t change the fact Colorado is the first team to lose 20 games and is last in nearly every major statistical team category.