Maple Leafs 5, Avalanche 2: Phil Kessel continued his torrid pace with a pair of goals as visiting Toronto extended its winning streak to six games.

James van Riemsdyk recorded a goal and an assist while Nazem Kadri and Jay McClement also scored for the Maple Leafs, who have won six straight for the first time since Dec. 23, 2005-Jan. 2, 2006. Tyler Bozak and Joffrey Lupul notched two assists apiece and James Reimer stopped 35 shots as Toronto improved to 2-0-0 on its four-game road trip.

Rookie Nathan MacKinnon scored both goals for the Avalanche, who had their four-game winning streak snapped by losing in regulation for only the second time in 12 contests (8-2-2). PA Parenteau registered an assist in his return from a knee injury and Semyon Varlamov allowed three goals on 10 shots before being replaced by Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who finished with 19 saves.

Kessel opened the scoring at 3:56 of the first period with his 25th of the season. A breakout pass by captain Dion Phaneuf missed the mark and caromed off the end boards but went right to Kessel, who beat Varlamov from the right side of the crease.

Defenseman Cody Franson's shot during a power play deflected off van Riemsdyk and past Varlamov with 2:19 remaining in the first and Kadri tipped in blue-liner Jake Gardiner's shot from the left point at 2:55 of the second to make it 3-0. Kessel capped his fifth multi-goal effort of the season less than three minutes later before MacKinnon tallied late in the second and early in the third to halve the deficit.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Kessel extended his point streak to seven games, registering six multi-point performances along the way. The 26-year-old has collected six goals and eight assists during the run. ... Varlamov fell to 11-1-5 since his last regulation loss on Dec. 10 against Phoenix. ... Parenteau saw 12:06 of ice time in his first game since Dec. 29. ... MacKinnon's two-goal effort was the third of his young NHL career. All three have come over his last nine games. ... McClement, a former member of the Avalanche, scored into an empty net for his 200th career point.