Despite dominating the NHL, the Colorado Avalanche's Achilles' heel – a sputtering power play – threatens their Stanley Cup aspirations.

Brock Nelson scored twice in a 1:12 span in the first period and sealed his fifth career hat trick with an empty-netter in the Colorado Avalanche’s 4-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday

William Nylander's obscene gesture during the Maple Leafs' 4-1 loss to the Avalanche is reportedly under NHL investigation.

The Toronto Maple Leafs rank eighth in NHL scoring, while the Colorado Avalanche lead the league with an average of 3.94 goals per game. Conversely, both sides have struggled defending lately, with the Avs losing four of their last five outings — surrendering 23 goals in that span.

On Friday night, the Flyers knocked off the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche, 7-3, on their home ice at Ball Arena in Denver. The seven goals are a season-high for the Flyers.

DENVER (AP) — Owen Tippett had his second career hat trick and the Philadelphia Flyers handed the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche their fourth loss in five games, 7-3 on Friday night. Tippett opened the scoring in the first and struck twice in the third.

The Avalanche remain atop NHL power rankings, but they and other top Central teams have slowed. The Atlantic Division has four of the hotter teams.

Welcome back to NHL Predictions. Each day, our writers here at Last Word On Hockey look at the games and give in-depth analysis. Our team breaks down the key matchups, storylines, and stats, then makes predictions based on how they might play out.

The Colorado Avalanche just took a 5-2 victory over the Washington Capitals, and in the process, Nathan MacKinnon hit a career milestone.

With just a couple weeks until the Winter Olympics are set to commence, Colorado Avalanche left wing Gabriel Landeskog's return to the ice remains a massive question mark.