CHICAGO -- On the night of Corey Crawford's big return, it was the backup goalie from the visiting, last-place team who got the win.

Calvin Pickard, playing for the injured Semyon Varlamov, saved 38 shots in the Colorado Avalanche's 2-1 overtime win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Nathan MacKinnon's wrister past the glove of Crawford 25 seconds into the extra period ended Colorado's five-game losing streak.

"It's a lot of fun playing against one of the best goalies in the league and it seemed like it was going to take the perfect shot to beat him tonight," said Pickard, who improved to 6-6-1 on the season. "Once it was 1-1, it just had the feeling like we were going to finish it off."

MacKinnon's ninth goal of the season sent the Avalanche into the Christmas break with their first win since Dec. 11.

"They're arguably the best team in the league," MacKinnon said. "When the last-place beats the first place, it gives us some confidence. It's been a tough stretch, but we're positive right now and going to enjoy it."

Colorado, entering the game with the fewest points in the NHL, improved to 12-20-1 on the season and got its eighth road win. Chicago (22-9-5) is now 13-3-4 at home this season.

"There were some positives. Especially 'Crow' in the net, having him back certainly helped control things around the net," said Blackhawks coach Joel Quennville. "Certain players played pretty good, and some guys were ordinary. I think we needed to be better to deserve to win that game."

Crawford, playing for the first time since Dec. 1 after undergoing an emergency appendectomy on Dec. 3, made 32 saves and is 12-6-3 on the season.

The teams were scoreless through the first period and one drought ended and another streak continued when the Blackhawks got the scoring under way with Jonathan Toews' first goal since Nov. 6 11:52 into the second. His power-play goal was his fifth of the season, ending a 13-game goalless streak, with the assists going to Duncan Keith and Artemi Panarin.

"Like I've been saying, it's just a matter of time," said Toews. "It was an ugly one, I probably stole that one from (Panarin) there, but I think he's had his fair share of one-timers on the power play. It was nice to feel one and see it go in. It always helps the confidence no matter what."

Panarin's 21st assist of the season extended his points streak to seven games. Keith's shot on goal ricocheted to Panarin, whose rebound got put in by Toews.

The Avalanche ended a drought of its own when Mikko Rantanen redirected a Tyson Barrie shot past Crawford, giving Colorado its first goal in eight periods. It was Rantanen's fifth goal of the season, while Barrie notched his 12th assist and MacKinnon got his team-high 14th assist.

"We wanted to make sure that tonight we could try to break that and kind of make a statement and try to start building something," said Avalanche coach Jared Bednar. "What better time to do it than against this team, against this goalie, in this building. Under the circumstances, it says a lot about our team. Now we've got to find a way to duplicate that performance and repeat it over and over again."

The Avalanche improved to 8-9-0 on the road this season.

"Playing in this building against that team, a team that buzzes, you're going to have to make saves no matter how good your team is playing," Pickard said. "They had some good looks, but that's just going to happen on the power play and 5-on-5. It was nice to get those saves and help the team win for sure."

NOTES: Blackhawks G Corey Crawford returned to the starting lineup for the first time since undergoing an emergency appendectomy Dec. 3. ... Avalanche G Semyon Varlamov did not make the trip because of a groin injury. Calvin Pickard started in goal while back-up duties fell to Spencer Martin, who was recalled from San Antonio of the American Hockey League. ... Blackhawks RW Marian Hossa did not play because of an upper-body injury he sustained Tuesday against Ottawa. ... Avalanche D Patrick Wiercioch was a healthy scratch. ... Blackhawks C Artem Anisimov remained out with an upper-body injury sustained Saturday night against the Blues. Anisimov was placed on injured reserve, allowing the Blackhawks to recall Tanner Kero from Rockford of the AHL. ... Avalanche D Eric Gelinas was back in the lineup after missing the last two games as a healthy scratch.