Morning Flurries: Avalanche hit 10 straight, Marc Savard hangs them up

How sweet is a 10-game winning streak?

So, so very sweet. Nearly franchise-record-settingly sweet, as a matter of fact:

The Avalanche swept their season series against the Toronto Maple Leafs, delightfully doing so with former Maple Leafs goaltender Jonathan Bernier in net for both games.

While it seemed like a close game for the first half score-wise, the Avalanche pulled out in front by the end - and with a final score of 4-2, managed to dominate and slip just a little bit higher up the standings. [Mile High Hockey]

Speaking of, it was an awesome night for Bernier, who now sits just two games away from tying the franchise record for consecutive wins in net. We don’t want to jinx it, but tying for second is still pretty cool:

The good news just keeps coming, too: Nathan MacKinnon was named First Star of the Week, because he’s flying to the top of the Hart contenders as the league passes the midway point on the season. [MHH]

Down in the baby leagues, let’s check out how the prospects are doing as well. [MHH]

Now, for a bit of Boston news (well, sort of):

Former Boston Bruin Marc Savard formally retired on Monday, hanging up his skates ‘officially’ despite having not played since the 2010-11 season.

Technically, Savard was on the last Bruins roster to win a Stanley Cup, although he missed their playoff run after noted human garbage Matt Cooke ended his career. Still, he was an incredible part of that team, and he’s a gem on social media now. Here’s hoping he’s having the best post-retirement life he possibly can. [Stanley Cup of Chowder]

In some other Boston news, this time relevant, one of the league’s hottest rookies - defender Charlie McAvoy - is going to miss the next few weeks as he recovers from a procedure after undergoing heart palpitations. [SCOC]

Now, for today’s heroic female athlete of the day:

Meet 15-year-old Izzy Palumbo.

She’s been playing for the Revelstoke Midget Tier three team this year, but signed with the KIJHL’s Golden Rockets as an affiliate player back in December.

Yes, you read that correctly: she signed as an affiliate player with a Junior B club in BC, Canada. And she’s only 15: rare enough for any player, much less a girl.

She made her first start this weekend for the team, going up against guys as old as 20 for a team with an absolutely miserable 3-32-1 record when she stepped in net.

Oh, and then she won the game. Kick ass, Izzy. [The Province]

Finally, here’s the hype video for the upcoming Winter Olympics you never knew you needed: