Devon Toews has been one of the Colorado Avalanche’s most productive offensive players through the first quarter of the season. After recording a goal and an assist against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, Toews has 18 points in 19 games, putting him just shy of a point-per-game pace.

Toews’ goal was Colorado’s third of the night and his fifth on the road this season. The Avalanche went on to defeat Toronto 6-3 at Scotiabank Arena, improving to 11-6-2.

What’s particularly encouraging about Toews’ start is how much it differs from his production a season ago. The defenseman had just three goals and 24 points in 68 games last year, a significant drop from what had become the norm during his time in Colorado. Before that, Toews had recorded three 50-point seasons with the Avalanche and reached double-digit goals three times.

Head coach Jared Bednar recently explained why he decided to separate Toews and Cale Makar following Josh Manson’s injury. Part of the decision was to get some of Colorado’s depth defensemen going, but Bednar also pointed to Toews’ offensive production as a factor.

With Toews playing so aggressively and finding success offensively, Makar had occasionally taken on more of a defense-first role. Bednar felt Makar was deferring to his defensive responsibilities to give Toews more freedom to jump into the play.

The separation has worked out well for both players.

Toews has continued producing at an impressive rate alongside Sam Malinski, while Makar has started to take over offensively. Over his last two games, Makar has a goal and five points.

As for Toews, the 32-year-old is putting himself in position to shatter his career highs in goals, assists and points. There’s a long to go for him to achieve that.

How It Happened

The Avalanche have been looking for more consistency on the road, but Tuesday’s game didn’t get off to the start they wanted.

Despite a strong opening stretch, Colorado surrendered the first goal when Darren Raddysh beat Mackenzie Blackwood with a blast from the point at the 3:33 mark.

The early deficit didn’t rattle the visitors. Colorado kept pressing and eventually scored twice in a little more than a minute to take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.

Brock Nelson got things started, beating Sergei Bobrovsky after a nice setup from Jaden Schwartz and T.J. Hughes. Just 1:17 later, Gabe Landeskog gave Colorado the lead with his first of two goals on the night.

The Avalanche extended their advantage early in the second period when Toews scored at 3:31. But Toronto responded late in the frame, with Easton Cowan beating Blackwood on a shot the Colorado netminder would probably like to have back. Blackwood didn’t seal the near post, allowing Cowan to squeeze the puck through from a tight angle.

The Maple Leafs carried that momentum into the third and found the equalizer on Jack Roslovic’s goal at 4:11. Suddenly, Colorado’s perfect record when leading after 40 minutes was in jeopardy.

But the response came quickly.

One of the best plays of the night came from Nazem Kadri, who found Landeskog in front with a beautiful pass from behind the net. The Avalanche captain made no mistake, restoring Colorado’s lead just 51 seconds after Roslovic tied the game.

Landeskog’s second goal proved to be the turning point. Artturi Lehkonen added an insurance marker at 17:15, and Martin Necas followed with an empty-net goal 15 seconds later.

The Avalanche improved to 5-1-1 over their last seven games and 2-0-1 in their last three. Blackwood finished with 28 saves and became the third NHL goaltender to reach 10 wins this season.

Good: Toews’ Play on the Road

Toews’ five road goals are second on the Avalanche through their first nine games away from Ball Arena. That’s an impressive number for a defenseman who scored just three goals in 68 games last season.

The only Avalanche player with more road goals is Lehkonen, who recorded his sixth late in the third period against Toronto.

Bad: First-Goal Woes

This is something Colorado eventually needs to clean up.

Bednar’s team has surrendered the first goal far too often this season, including in each of its last six road games. Against Toronto, the Avalanche managed to overcome the early deficit, something that hasn’t always been easy for them.

In the five road games before Tuesday, Colorado fell behind 2-0 in four of them.

The Avalanche have shown they can recover from difficult starts, but consistently putting themselves in that position isn’t a sustainable approach. They’ll need to do a better job of dictating the pace early, particularly away from home.