Avs swamp Minnesota, 7-2

You cannot score one goal and give up two in a period or three periods and expect the outcome to be anything but dismal.

That’s what the Minnesota Wild did Saturday night in Denver as the Avalanche posted a 7-2 win over the Wild for their fifth straight victory.

Carl Soderberg potted two power play goals in the win as the Avs improved to 22-16-3.

“To string those five games together, I think that’s a statement and obviously tonight, we knew how important this one was going to be. Playing the Wild, we know what those games are going to be like, and this one was fun. It was a lot of fun in the sold-out environment,” the Avs’ Gabriel Landeskog said after the game.

Jonathan Bernier made 34 saves to pick up the win, his fourth straight.

Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen scored and had two points each in the win and Gabriel Bourque, Patrik Nemeth and Tyson Jost added single markers for the Avs.

“That was a playoff environment, we haven’t had that in a long time,” MacKinnon said. “I think it’s a good thing that we stepped up on a big stage. The crowd was excited, and when you needed to step up, everybody did. It was a full team effort. We had a great 60 minutes.

“You can’t be comfortable, but you can definitely be proud of ourselves. I mean, no one expected anything out of us this season. We still have 50 percent of the season left, but it’s good.”

Eric Staal scored both goals for the Wild as they dropped to 22-17-3 on the season.

“We took a step back today,” Minnesota coach Bruce Boudreau said. “We got to learn how to win on the road. That’s ridiculous how we can play so good at home and completely opposite on the road.”

[WATCH: All Wild vs. Avalanche highlights]

Devan Dubnyk made 26 after getting the start for Minnesota but was given the hook early in the third period.

“It didn’t seem like it was going to be a great right from the get-go,” Dubnyk said. “We talked about it before the game, it’s a fast team. And we didn’t want to play into their hands and we played right into their hands in the first period with a lot of turnovers. It got a little out of hand.”

Alex Stalock mopped up and yielded one goal in his time in the net.