WASHINGTON -- Colorado Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov enjoyed his time with Washington Capitals. Nike Zoom Wholesale . Despite some nerves, he also had a good time in his first game against them. Alex Tanguay scored twice and Varlamov made 40 saves in his return to Washington as the Avalanche remained perfect under coach Patrick Roy with a 5-1 win on Saturday night. "I got too excited to play against my old team," said Varlamov, who was drafted by Washington in 2006 and traded to Colorado in 2011. "Thats why I think I am too nervous. In the warmups, my legs were shaking. The whole first period my legs were shaking. But after the first period, I feel so much better." It is the first time the Avalanche franchise is 5-0 since the 1994-95 season when the team was the Quebec Nordiques. "We take it one day at a time and just say, Why not? Why not us?" Roy said of Colorados early success. "Were working hard every day. Were humble. We know were playing against good teams." Roy was careful when asked if he sees some of himself in the 25-year-old Varlamov, who improved to 4-0 with a 1.00 goals against average. "I dont want to start comparing," he said, "but at the same time, hes playing outstanding. Both goalies have been, Wow, for us. What I like about Varly is hes always under control." Rookie Nathan MacKinnon added his first NHL goal and an assist, and Matt Duchene and Jamie McGinn also scored for Colorado. Paul Stastny earned two assists, including his 400th NHL point as Colorado went 3-0 on a trip that included stops at Toronto and Boston. Varlamov carried a shutout into the third period before Eric Fehr beat him at 2:03. "He played great. Hes been playing great," Washington coach Adam Oates said of Varlamov. "Everything they do right now is turning to gold." Michael Neuvirth made 23 saves for the Capitals (1-4) in his first start this season. Washington has lost three straight. "It starts in our end. Weve got to be stronger. Weve got to make sure pucks get out," Fehr said. "I think we need to want the puck a little bit more." Trailing 2-0 after one period, the Capitals put 19 shots on Varlamov in the second without scoring. "He made a lot of big saves," Roy said. "I think we gave up like 14 scoring chances, which is a lot, but he was solid." Midway through the period, Fehr shot wide while Varlamov was out of position. Minutes later, Varlamov denied Tom Wilson in front. "The second period, thats a shame," Oates said. "We come out and dominate the period, probably our best period of the season." Colorado stretched its lead to 3-0 with 2:19 left in the second after the Capitals were caught with too many men on the ice. Stastny fed the 18-year-old MacKinnon in front, and MacKinnon -- the top pick in this years NHL draft -- beat Neuvirth. He celebrated by skating to the corner and jumping into the glass. Tanguay made it 4-0 with a short-handed goal at 1:19 of the third. Fehr spoiled Varlamovs shutout bid off a pass from behind the goal line by Jason Chimera. Tanguay opened the scoring at 6:42 of the first when his shot from the left circle deflected off a Washington stick and past Neuvirth. Later in the period, just after an Avalanche power play ended, Colorado made it 2-0. "I like our intensity. Theres no doubt about it," Roy said. "I thought we were very focused before the game. We jumped on them right at the start." Duchene skated in on the right side, worked around defenceman John Carlson and lifted the puck over Neuvirths shoulder for his third goal. Washington went 0 for 2 on the power play. Colorado hasnt allowed a power-play goal in 12 short-handed situations this season. NOTES: Avalanche LW Cody McLeod was assisted off the ice after he blocked Alex Ovechkins shot in the second period. ... Washington D John Erskine sat out with an upper body injury. LW Aaron Volpatti was also scratched. ... D Nick Holden, D Tyson Barrie and C Marc-Andre Cliche were scratched by Colorado. ... Washington D Nate Schmidt, recalled from Hershey of the AHL on Friday, made his NHL debut. ... The Nordiques were 7-0 in the 1985-86 season, the best start in franchise history. Nike Zoom Clearance . 22. Wade averaged 26.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.0 steals while leading the Heat to a 3-0 record. The 31-year-old shot 60 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range en route to his 17th weekly honor. Nike Zoom Outlet . The struggling New Orleans Pelicans were simply overmatched. Crawford hit seven 3s on his way to 24 points, and the Clippers beat the Pelicans 123-110 on Monday night. "We understand what we do well. If we all do what we do well, well make our team stronger," Crawford said. http://www.nikezoomoutlet.com/ . What they did need, the Devils got from Patrik Elias. Elias scored a power-play goal 40 seconds into overtime to give the New Jersey Devils a 3-2 victory over the Dallas Stars.Jim Rutherford didnt expect to fill all the holes on the Pittsburgh Penguins roster in a day. Good thing, because it didnt happen. Not even close. Still, the new general manager isnt panicking despite losing six players in free agency, including defencemen Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskanen, and talented winger Jussi Jokinen. Less than a month into the job, Rutherford is taking a pragmatic approach to replenishing the talent around stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. The process began Tuesday when the Penguins signed defenceman Christian Ehrhoff, forward Blake Comeau and goaltender Thomas Greiss to one-year deals. The team also retained forward Marcel Goc. Hardly the kind of splashy signings made elsewhere -- Washington spent $67.5 million alone to bring in Orpik and Niskanen -- but Rutherford isnt complaining. "We dont necessarily have to have our team all set for a playoff run in September," he said. Ehrhoff came onto the market over the weekend after the Buffalo Sabres bought out the final seven seasons his 10-year contract. The 31-year-old will make $4 million next season in Pittsburgh. The German-born Ehrhoff has 69 goals and 313 points in 692 games, and Rutherford believes Ehrhoffs skill set will fit in well under new coach Mike Johnston. "He plays a lot of minutes, 23-24 a game, can play right or left defence, power play, penalty kill," Rutherford said. "Hes in great shape and a great team guy. He can really skate and with the kind of team we have, having a guy back there that can skate and move the puck is important." Rutherford is confident the young defencemen in Pittsburghs minor league system will give the Penguins a solid blue linne even without Orpik -- the longest-tenured defenceman in team history -- and Niskanen, who cashed in after a career year. Nike Zoom Online Shop. Still, Rutherford didnt waste a chance to grab Ehrhoff despite the shortness of the deal. "He loved the opportunity to come with the Penguins," Rutherford said. "He just felt that, lets give it a one-year try with a good team and have a chance to win and then well look at it at the end of the season." Comeau provides depth as a third or fourth line forward. The 28-year-old had five goals and 11 assists in 61 games for the Columbus Blue Jackets last season. Greiss, who went 10-8-5 with a 2.29 goals-against average for Phoenix in 2013-14, will compete with Jeff Zatkoff for the backup spot behind Marc-Andre Fleury. The signings give the Penguins depth, but also leave plenty to address going forward, including who is going to play with Malkin after the departure of Jokinen and James Neal. The Penguins traded Neal to Nashville for Patric Hornqvist and Nick Spaling on Friday, and Jokinen left on Tuesday to sign a four-year deal with the Florida Panthers. Hornqvist is a candidate to fill out a top six spot, and the return of Pascal Dupuis from a knee injury and Beau Bennett from a wrist injury should give the Penguins some options. Rutherford didnt rule out a run at free agent forward Nikolai Kulemin -- who happens to be a good friend of Malkins -- but isnt sure the money will work. "Theres always a chance but it would take someone getting very, very creative to figure out how that contract fits into our cap," Rutherford said. ------ AP Sports Writer John Wawrow in Buffalo, NY contributed to this report. ' ' '