Gabriel Landeskog doesn’t want to judge his play by the numbers, but it’s hard to ignore three goals in 24 hours, especially when he had just two over the previous 48 days.

Led by Landeskog and Brock Nelson, the Avalanche bounced back from their first loss in over three weeks to rout the Montreal Canadiens on home ice by a score of 7-2 on Saturday at Ball Arena. Landeskog scored two goals and added an assist, while Nelson may have had his best game in an Avalanche uniform, scoring two goals and assisting on two others.

A slow start by the Avalanche didn’t matter because goalie Mackenzie Blackwood was there to make not one, not two, but three huge stops on some early Canadiens power plays. From that point on, it was all Colorado, as the Avalanche had scored four before Montreal even got its first.

The start of the season was a bit of a struggle for Landeskog, which Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar expected, given he hadn’t gone through the rigors of a full training camp and season in a few years. With six points in his last five games, double what he had in the previous 20 games, it’s clear he’s rounding into form, even if he won’t outright say it.

“Sometimes you can get production without really playing your best, if that makes sense,” Landeskog said. “And sometimes you can really be playing at the top of your game and not get production, so I wouldn’t necessarily always think that you’re producing, you’re playing your best…I think at the end of the day, I still base my evaluation off of different things and it’s not necessarily the scoresheet.”

One area where the scoresheet does matter when it comes to evaluation is the power play, and Landeskog’s third period goal on the man advantage was what the Avalanche need to see more. Shoot the puck towards the net with some traffic and make life difficult on the goaltender. There’s been far too little of that this season for Colorado, and with Landeskog in front of the net, you know life won’t be easy for the opposing goalie.

“We try to talk about where those guys want to shoot the puck, and if I can get a piece of it, I’ll try. That one worked out,” Landeskog said.

Landeskog is not the only one rounding into form. After a four-point afternoon, Nelson is now up to 11 points in his last nine games and is on pace for over 25 goals. That would be strong production from a second-line center, considering the majority of those points are coming at even strength.

With MacKinnon leading the league in scoring and Cale Makar and Martin Necas not far behind him, the Avalanche are becoming an even more dangerous team to play against with the two wily vets hitting their stride. There’s a lot of season left, but right now, it’s difficult not to be impressed.

“The most important thing for me is the focus of the team,” Bednar said. “Guys are playing hard, they’re playing well. We’ve been competitive and committed pretty much every time the puck drops.”

Avalanche 7, Canadiens 2

What happened: The Avalanche took advantage of a Montreal team that seemed to have no interest in playing defense. Not a good strategy against Colorado.

What went right: Nathan MacKinnon continues to torch the NHL, adding three more points, and as of the end of the game, he had eight more points than the next closest player in the league.

What went wrong: The ice looked awful for all parties involved, a less-than-ideal scenario considering Ball Arena was set to host DU hockey later Saturday evening. Montreal’s net came off the moorings multiple times in the first without much resistance, which could be a sign of soft ice. Not much to complain about with the Avalanche, so have to turn to the ice conditions.

Avalanche goal scorers: Nelson (7,8), Landeskog (4,5), MacKinnon (20), Toews (1), Burns (3)

Canadiens goal scorers: Demidov (6), Hutson (4)

Between the pipes: Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 21 of the 23 shots he faced, making some huge saves early. “He was great tonight,” Bednar said.

What’s next: The Avalanche will host the Vancouver Canucks at 7 p.m. Tuesday before heading out on the road for four games.