CHICAGO -- Connor Bedard extended his career-best point streak to eight games with a goal and an assist for the Chicago Blackhawks in a 3-1 win against the Colorado Avalanche at United Center on Wednesday. Petr Mrazek made 35 saves for the Blackhawks (14-25-2), who had lost six of seven.

Connor Bedard had a goal and an assist, and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-1. Frank Nazar and Ilya Mikheyev also scored for Chicago, which had lost six of seven.

There are few teams riding as high as the Colorado Avalanche of late. With points in eight straight games, including an impressive win over the Florida Panthers, the Avalanche have challenges ahead but looked to have an easy road win coming in the form of the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Colorado Avalanche finish their first back-to-back series of the new year 1-1-0. After a 3-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, they came ready to play against the Minnesota Wild, who currently sit at 4th in the league and 2nd in the western conference.

The Wild won’t have to wait too long for a do-over — their rematch against the Avalanche is only 10 days away — but the impression they’ve left in the meantime is not of the team that soared ahead of Colorado in the Central Division.

The short-handed Minnesota Wild fought for a while, but their excess of injuries ultimately proved too much to overcome in a 6-1 blowout loss to the Colorado Avalanche Thursday night at the Xcel Energy Center in St.