The Colorado Avalanche have talked about being a confident team. In a Game 1 win over the Arizona Coyotes, they penciled in a few more positive qualities.

Colorado was persistent and patient in the 3-0 victory Wednesday.

The Coyotes made it difficult to get in close or get shots through, and second chances were rare. The good play of Darcy Kuemper (37 saves) contributed but that’s also how the Coyotes are built.

“We didn’t start cheating the offense as the game could start to get frustrating,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “We just stuck with it and had the belief that we could pull through.”

The Avalanche put 32 shots on net before one finally got through. Then another, then another, all in 83 seconds.

Nazem Kadri scored a power-play goal with 6:55 to play in regulation. Ten seconds later, J.T. Compher jumped on a rebound and put it in.

“We’re such a momentum team,” forward Matt Calvert said. “You see us score that one goal and then guys get energized. It definitely does energize our team and it’s starting to become an identity of our team.”

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Mikko Rantanen scored a beauty to finish the scoring and give the Avalanche the series lead heading into Friday afternoon’s Game 2.

Calvert pointed to patience, maturity, and not getting frustrated.

“Those things - it never came into play last night,” Calvert said.

All attributes that would serve them well in a deep playoff run.

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