Semyon Varlamov made 39 saves, Jarome Iginla scored his 598th career goal and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Edmonton Oilers 5-1 on Saturday night for their fifth consecutive win.
Varlamov tied his career high with his sixth victory in a row and improved to 7-1 in December.
Tyson Barrie had a goal and an assist, and Blake Comeau and Nick Holden also scored for the Avalanche. Colorado (17-16-1) is above .500 for the first time this season.
It is the longest winning streak for the Avalanche since they won six straight from March 25 to April 5, 2014.
Andrej Sekera scored for the Oilers, who have lost three in a row following a six-game winning streak.
Comeau gave Colorado a 1-0 lead with a short-handed goal 1:12 into the game. Edmonton defenseman Justin Schultz failed to keep the puck in the Avalanche zone and Comeau beat Anders Nilsson for his fifth of the season.
The Oilers kept the pressure on through most of the first period but didn't score against Varlamov. Barrie then made it 2-0 with a power-play goal at 16:49. It was his third of the season.
After Holden's goal in the second period made it a three-goal game, Sekera cut the lead to 3-1 just 2:58 into the third. Iginla restored the three-goal lead with his ninth of the season at 7:05. Iginla is two goals shy of becoming the 19th player in NHL history with 600.
Jack Skille made it 5-1 with his fourth goal at 16:31.
The Oilers couldn't get a puck by Varlamov in the first two periods, but they weren't too angry to give the goalie his due. Taylor Hall was frustrated after Varlamov made a right pad save on him in the waning moments of the second period but tapped the goalie on his equipment as he skated to the locker room.
NOTES: Nilsson finished with 24 saves. ... Oilers D Brandon Davidson was helped off the ice with a leg injury at 6:23 of the third period. ... Comeau's goal was Colorado's third short-handed goal of the season. ... Edmonton LW Benoit Pouliot returned to the lineup after missing eight games with a hip injury.
