DENVER — Erik Johnson knew it would be hard to keep his emotions in check in his return to Colorado. He and the Buffalo Sabres defeated the Avalanche at home in October. But playing at Ball Arena as a member of the visiting team was never going to be easy. And it wasn’t.

Johnson was choked up during his press availability following morning skate. A question about the expected tribute video was what led to him needing a moment to gather himself. Johnson’s stint with Colorado made him the longest-tenured Denver athlete at the time. It’s an organization, a team and a city he still holds near and dear to his heart.

And in his return on Wednesday — a 5-1 victory for the Avalanche — Johnson received a well-earned lengthy standing ovation from the crowd during his tribute with faint sounds of an “EJ” chant echoing through the building. As Johnson embraced the ovation, former teammate and good friend Nathan MacKinnon skated across center ice to give him a stick tap. The emotions were as expected for one of the team’s good soldiers leading up to the 2022 Stanley Cup championship run.

“That was fantastic. I loved not just seeing some of the highlights and emotions from EJ, but I thought our fan reaction says it all,” head coach Jared Bednar said. “Longtime Av, Stanley Cup champion, lots of friends still on this roster. … The reaction and the length of the standing ovation and everything, I thought was great. Well deserved.”

On the ice, the Avs reminded Johnson exactly what they’re capable of. Before the first period was 12 minutes old, Colorado led 3-0 and had a 10-0 shot advantage. Mikko Rantanen, Valeri Nichushkin (two), Miles Wood and Sam Malinski scored for the Avs, who have won their last two games and finished the homestand 3-2-0. Colorado had 15 shots before the Sabres got a puck on goalie Ivan Prosvetov. Johnson was a minus-2 in the first period.

“That was a perfect first period for us,” Bednar said.

Malinski’s tally was one of two goals to come after the first period. Playing in just his seventh career game, the 25-year-old rookie defenseman had easily his best showing in the NHL. He had two points, two shots and was a plus-3 in 16:25 of ice time. With the Avalanche leading 3-1, Malinski fired a rocket one-timer off a setup from his defense partner Jack Johnson. The shot, which came from above the circle, was perfectly placed in the top corner of the net to put Colorado ahead 4-1.

When the goal was announced, Malinski was seen taking instruction from the veteran Johnson on the bench. The two have started to build chemistry together both on and off the ice.

“I played with him a little bit in training camp so when he came back up it was a familiar face,” Johnson said. “I’m thrilled for him tonight, too. That’s awesome. First goal, he’ll remember that for the rest of his life.”

The scoring started with a play that involved all three of the Avs’ top superstars. Battling for possession in the defensive zone against both Peyton Krebs and Kyle Okposo, star defenseman Cale Makar came out with the puck and sent it to MacKinnon. The star center quickly made his way into the Buffalo zone and set up a drop pass for Rantanen, who skated around Johnson and his linemate Connor Clifton before finishing the wrap-around on an open net.

Rantanen’s tally was his second in two games after snapping a nine-game goal-less drought.

Colorado continued to dominate, eventually adding to its lead after Nichushkin scored on a rebound. The moments leading up to the goal saw the Avs outclass the Sabres, using a relentless forecheck to keep the play alive on numerous occasions. They won the race for every loose puck and were rewarded with a goal.

They eventually extended the lead to three after Wood elected to shoot on a 2-on-1 to beat goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen clean. Colorado had three goals, the Sabres had zero shots.

The first shot for the opposition came with just over a minute remaining in the first period. And on the rebound, forward Zach Benson beat goalie Ivan Prosvetov to cut into the Avalanche’s lead before the break. Buffalo then took a power play into the second period and had 16 consecutive shots before the Avs challenged Luukkonen again.

“I think it’s pretty tough mentally but it’s all like mystery kind of in your head,” Prosvetov said of the 18 minutes without facing a shot. “And then great chance comes and they score.”

Following the Malinski goal, the Avs found themselves on a late third-period power play and capitalized. MacKinnon received a pass from Rantanen and quickly set up Nichushkin for his second of the evening to finish the tic-tac-toe play. Nichushkin’s tally was his 100th career goal and the helper for MacKinnon gives him 800 career points.

Bednar was very complimentary of Nichushkin’s performance. He had a team-high seven shots in 22:30.

“Val’s start to the game was insane,” he said. “I mean, he gets two partial breakaways charging through the middle of the ice. Checks back. He probably could have had four goals in the first eight minutes of the game. Eventually, he gets rewarded for his work.”

Prosvetov made 29 saves, earning his fourth victory of the season. The backup netminder has played a part in each of the last three games. Following a loss to Philadelphia on Saturday, Prosvetov took over for starter Alexandar Georgiev in the third period on Tuesday with the Avs down two goals. He stopped all 11 shots he faced and watched as his team scored three goals to defeat the Flames. That performance is what led to the start against the Sabres — a reward from his head coach for helping calm things down in a high-scoring affair.

Prosvetov improved his save percentage to .919 after the near-perfect start.

“He’s given us really quality starts here in these last few games and now we’ve seen him more,” Bednar said of Prosvetov. “We haven’t really seen a lot of weaknesses from his games coming in, in relief, or when he’s starting. I think myself as a coach, he himself and his teammates should all be gaining confidence from what he’s been doing and the way he’s been playing.”