GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The NHL season isn't yet out of its first month, but the Colorado Avalanche were not OK with falling below .500.

Matt Duchene and his teammates made sure the Avs stayed above the even line. Duchene scored two goals, Rene Bourque added his first of the season and the Avalanche held on for a 3-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes Saturday night.

Duchene gave the Avalanche a two-goal lead that became one when Tobias Rieder lit the lamp on a breakaway with just over four minutes to play in the game. The Coyotes pulled goaltender Louis Domingue in the final minute but couldn't equalize.

"We needed this one. It was a big one for us," Duchene said. "Coach said if we played 40 more minutes like we played the first 20, we'd get a 'W.' And he was right."

Bourque, on a power play, knocked a fortunate bounce off the boards behind the net -- the puck sent in by Nathan MacKinnon -- past Domingue to give the Avalanche a 2-1 lead. Calvin Pickard did his part with 24 saves, and the Avalanche snapped a brief two-game losing streak to improve to 4-3.

"We never had that feeling we were going to lose it. We all felt confident out there," Pickard said. "Those last four minutes were tense but we definitely did the job."

Duchene's goal at 11:24 of the third period was his team-leading fifth of the season. It glanced off Domingue's glove and found net.

The Avalanche penalty-kill unit thwarted the Coyotes four times without surrendering a goal and is 7-for-7 in its last two games.

"We had four lines going, everyone buying into their specific role," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said.

The Coyotes (2-6) were playing at home for the first time since Oct. 15 after a six-game road trip to the East Coast which saw them lose five of those contests.

The Coyotes' Radim Vrbata opened the scoring with his fourth goal of the season, taking a pass from Max Domi and shooting the puck past Pickard at 14:57 of the first period.

Martin Hanzal started the play by fighting off a defender while handling the puck, then centering with a backhand to Domi. Pickard was in goal in favor of No. 1 goalie Semyon Varlamov, who'd played 58-plus minutes on Friday in Denver.

"Vrbata's goal was a good play for us, but we didn't have much push after that," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said. "You can see there's not a lot of energy in your group but you still have to try to find a way to win, and that's disappointing when you don't.

Colorado tied it at 1-1 at 5:51 of the second period. Mikhail Grigorenko flipped a pass from behind the net to Duchene in front. Duchene, with Coyotes defenseman Alex Goliogski all over him, turned with the puck and fired past Domingue.

The Avalanche had more scoring opportunities and put pressure on Domingue in the second period. But the 24-year-old goalie made a number of athletic and fast-reflex saves, finishing his night with 31 saves but losing for the for fifth time in six games.

Colorado outshot Arizona 34-26, but the Coyotes missed some close ones. Hanzal had a shot hit the crossbar midway through the third period.

NOTES: Rieder appeared in his 162nd consecutive game. He hasn't missed a game since making his NHL debut on almost two years ago, Nov. 2, 2014. ... D Michael Stone (upper-body injury) was one of Arizona's three scratches. He was hurt in Thursday's game at Philadelphia. Tippett said Stone could return to action for the team's next game, Tuesday against San Jose ... Tippett said G Mike Smith is more week-to-week than day-to-day. Smith is on injured reserve with a lower-body injury, and it could be some time before he takes the ice again. Smith has been out since late in the second game of the season. ... Colorado D Fedor Tyutin was scratched due to a groin injury while F Cody McLeod and F Gabriel Bourque were healthy scratches for Colorado. ... Stone, C Dylan Strome and F Lawson Crouse were scratched for Arizona.