COLORADO AVALANCHE (40-20-5) VS CALGARY FLAMES (31-28-5)
7:00 PM MDT | SCOTIABANK SADDLEDOME | WATCH: ALTITUDE TV | LISTEN: 92.5 FM
Colorado is set to conclude its season-series against Calgary this Tuesday at the Scotiabank Saddledome. The Avalanche have secured victories in seven of their last 10 matchups, outscoring opponents 36-19 during that span. The Flames have lost their two most recent games, being outscored by their opponents 12-3. Calgary is 16-14-1 at home this season.
Latest Results:
March 8, 2024 COL: 2 MIN: 1 (OT)
March 10, 2024 CAR: 7 CGY: 2
MINNESOTA MISFALL
Friday night at Ball Arena, Colorado secured a 2-1 overtime victory against the Minnesota Wild. Artturi Lehkonen scored on Colorado’s first shot of the game 42 seconds into the contest, but the hosts would not score again until the last play of the game when Valeri Nichushkin lit the lamp in overtime. Friday marked the third occasion this season that the Avalanche scored with their first shot of the game (Dec. 5 vs Anaheim and Dec. 3 at Anaheim). Along the way, Mats Zuccarello received a penalty shot opportunity, but Alexandar Georgiev successfully stopped it. The last instance of a failed penalty shot against Colorado occurred on Dec. 3, 2022, with Boston's Tomas Nosek on Pavel Francouz. With this win, the Avalanche have positioned themselves alongside the Winnipeg Jets for second place in the Central Division.
AVS ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Nathan MacKinnon assisted on both goals against Minnesota, extending his season-opening point streak to 32 games. This ties Guy Lafleur (1978-79) for the third-longest home point streak in NHL history.
The centerman matched his previous season's career-high of 111 points and currently holds a four-point advantage over Nikita Kucherov for the NHL lead.
Valeri Nichushkin played his first game since Jan. 10 after entering the NHLPA’s Player Assistance Program. He scored the overtime winner on a power play, his fifth game-winning goal of the season. Despite participating in only 41 games, Nichushkin is ranked fifth in the NHL for power-play tallies (14).
Casey Mittelstadt, Brandon Duhaime, Yakov Trenin and Sean Walker all made their debut with the Avalanche on Friday night.
HISTORY
Colorado/Quebec owns an all-time record of 74-76-20-5 against Calgary/Atlanta. On the road, the franchise has a 33-43-9-1 tally against them. This marks the teams' third and final meeting of the season, with the Avalanche having won the previous two encounters on Nov. 25, 2023, and Dec. 11, 2023. Over their last 20 matchups, Colorado is 9-8-3 and is on a four-game winning streak against Calgary that started on Jan. 18, 2023. The Avs have captured three of their last four head-to-head meetings in Calgary.
COLLAPSE IN CAROLINA
On Sunday, the Flames were defeated by the Carolina Hurricanes, 7-2. Carolina got out to a 4-0 lead before Dryden Hunt was able to put Calgary on the board and the Hurricanes netted two more to finish out the second period. Despite a final effort from the Flames in the third frame with their second tally of the night, Carolina picked up the game-winning goal and sealed its victory over Calgary.
STATS TO KNOW
Nathan MacKinnon has scored at least one point in every matchup against Calgary starting on Apr. 13, 2019. He has registered 25 points (12g/13a) in those 15 games, seven of those outings resulting in multi-point performances.
Andrew Cogliano has faced-off against the Flames 69 times in his career, tied with the Canucks for his most frequently encountered team.
Zach Parise’s most recent four-point game was against Calgary, recording a hat trick and an assist on Mar. 24, 2016.
In the last Colorado-Calgary encounter on Dec. 11, 12 different players found the scoresheet. Five players registered a multi-point game.
FLAMES FEATS
MacKenzie Weegar has tallied 15 goals in 2023-24, tied for the second-most among league defensemen this season. Cale Makar stands at the forefront with 17 goals.
Connor Zary is ranked eighth among all NHL rookies in points this season, having accumulated 29 (12/17a) in 50 games.
Former Avalanche player Nazem Kadri leads the Flames in points this season, registering 55 points (22g/33a) in 64 games. He is on track to record 70 points, marking his second-highest total in a campaign, following his 87-point season in 2021-22 with Colorado.
The Calgary Flames have scored a total of 200 goals this season, maintaining an average of 3.13 goals per game. They trail Colorado by 39, who is tied for the lead in the NHL alongside the Dallas Stars.
NUMBERS GAME
71
MacKinnon has racked up a career-high 71 assists in 2023-24. His assists are the seventh-most in a season in Avalanche/Nordiques history and the third-most since relocation.
60
Skating in his 60th game of 2023-24, Makar has 70 points (17g/53a). He holds the record for assists, the second-highest in points, and the third-highest in goals among defensemen in the franchise’s history through the first 60 games of a season.
114
Georgiev made his 114th appearance with the Avalanche on Friday, positioning him for the 10th-most by a goalie in franchise history.
QUOTE(S) THAT LEFT A MARK
“I think you can just tell the expectation here is to win. Anything less than that is not acceptable. I’ve had a blast since I’ve been here and it’s obviously a culture that I really want to be a part of, so [I’ve] had a blast and hopefully more to come.”
- Colorado C Casey Mittelstadt on Avalanches’ culture
