Avalanche Returns Home to Ball Arena to Host Wild

Following a back-to-back set in St. Paul on Saturday and Sunday, the Colorado Avalanche returns to Ball Arena to host the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday for the third contest of a four-game series.
Colorado (6-3-1) is coming off a 4-3 overtime loss on Sunday at Minnesota (6-4-0), falling in the extra frame for the first time this season. Cale Makar scored his first goal of the season, while Joonas Donskoi and Brandon Saad both tallied for the second consecutive game. Nathan MacKinnon extended his point streak to five games, recording two assists in the contest. Goaltender Hunter Miska made his second start of the campaign and stopped 29-of-33 shots.

The Wild fought off a late 3-2 third-period deficit when Victor Rask tied the game--his second of the night--with 7:26 remaining, and Jonas Brodin ended the contest 18 seconds into overtime, receiving a pass from Jordan Greenway. Netminder Cam Talbot made 22 saves in his fifth appearance this season.
Tuesday's matchup is the first of a two-game set at Ball Arena between the clubs, and it is the third meeting of the eight-game regular-season series.

Avalanche vs. Minnesota Wild

Ball Arena | Denver, Colo.
| Game Time: | 6:30 p.m. | | --- | --- | | TV: | Altitude, NBCSN (blackouts apply) | | Radio: | Altitude Sports Radio, FM 92.5 (KKSE) | | Live Streams: | AltitudeNow.com, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, Official app (blackouts apply to all) | | Online Audio: | Listen Live Here | | Follow: | @Avalanche, Official app, Gamecenter |

COLORADO-MINNESOTA CONNECTIONS

Erik Johnson is from Bloomington, Minnesota, and played one season at the University of Minnesota (2006-07)... Greg Pateryn spent the last two-plus seasons with the Wild… Avalanche netminder Hunter Miska is from North Branch, Minnesota, and played college hockey at the University of Minnesota Duluth (2016-17)… Wild defenseman Ian Cole spent the past two-plus seasons with Colorado… Wild assistant coaches Darby Hendrickson (2003-04) and Brett McLean (2005-2007) played for the Avs.

HISTORY

The Avs host the Wild for 54th time in franchise history (109th all-time regular-season encounter), which is the most games the Avs have played at Ball Arena against any opponent since Minnesota entered the league in 2000-01. The Avalanche is 51-43-14 all-time versus the Wild, including a 27-22-4 mark at home.
Through the first two matchups this season, Nathan MacKinnon leads Colorado with four helpers, while Brandon Saad (two goals, one assist) and Samuel Girard (three assists) are tied for second in scoring with three points apiece. For Minnesota, Jordan Greenway (one goal, two assists) ranks first in offensive production, with Victor Rask (two tallies), Jonas Brodin (one goal, one assist) and Joel Eriksson Ek (two assists) also contributing on the offensive end.

ROSTER REPORT

Colorado did not hold a practice on Monday, so the lineup likely won't be known until later in the day. Kiefer Sherwood could return to the lineup after being scratched for Sunday's game, which saw defenseman Jacob MacDonald make his Avalanche debut and the team use 17 skaters due to the salary cap. Goaltender Philipp Grubauer is expected to start in net.

INJURY UPDATE

Nathan MacKinnon missed the third period of Sunday's game due to a lower-body injury. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare is making progress with his lower-body injury but is not expected to play on Tuesday, according to Jared Bednar. More might be known on defensemen Erik Johnson (upper body) and Devon Toews's (lower body) status on Tuesday. Forward Matt Calvert (upper body) and goaltender Pavel Francouz (lower body) are currently out indefinitely.

SCOUTING THE WILD

Minnesota sits in third place of the West Division with 12 points (6-4-0), one point behind the Avs. On the road, the Wild owns a 3-1-0 record and the league's second-best penalty kill percentage, stopping 92.3 percent of power-play opportunities (12-for-13).
Jordan Greenway has registered a point in four consecutive games after registering a goal and an assist on Sunday, extending his career-long point streak. The forward leads the Wild in points and assists, recording two goals and eight helpers in 10 games. Netminder Cam Talbot has been solid in between the pipes, posting a 3-1-0 record with a 2.49 goals-against average and .916 save percentage.
Forward Marcus Foligno will also miss Tuesday's game after being added to the NHL's COVID protocol list prior to Sunday's game. Defenseman Matt Dumba was placed on injured reserve after getting hurt in Saturday's contest.

(OPPOSING) PLAYER TO WATCH: RYAN SUTER

Ryan Suter is in his 16th NHL season and ninth campaign as a leader on the Minnesota Wild blue line. In 610 games with the Wild, Suter has tallied 52 goals and 304 helpers, registering the most assists all-time by a Minnesota defenseman. The veteran has averaged 27:24 of ice time in his career with the club, the highest amount of time on ice by a skater in franchise history. The defenseman has six assists in 10 contests this season.
Against the Avalanche, Suter has recorded 39 points (five goals, 34 assists) in 67 games with the Wild and Nashville Predators. Since joining the Wild in 2012-13, the 36-year-old is the franchise leader in points by a defender and ranks fifth in all-time scoring versus the Avs with five goals and 22 assists in 39 meetings.

NUMBERS GAME

3x4

Joonas Donskoi, Cale Makar and Brandon Saad have each recorded a point in four consecutive games for the Avs. Makar and Donskoi are both one game away from tying their career-long point streaks of five games, while Saad's longest stretch of games with a point is seven.

6

Colorado has not allowed a power-play goal in the last six games, killing 22 straight man-advantage opportunities. The last power-play goal against the Avs was on Jan. 21 at the Los Angeles Kings. The Avalanche owns the No. 1 penalty kill in the NHL with a 91.7 percentage.

7

Nazem Kadri notched his 400th point with an assist on Sunday, becoming the seventh player from the 2009 draft to reach the 400-point mark.

NOTEBOOK

The Avs hold a 3-1-0 record at Ball Arena this season, winning three-straight contests at home. Colorado has scored 4.75 goals per game on home ice, which is tied for second in the NHL… Mikko Rantanen is set to play in his 20th career game against the Wild. The forward has 21 points (seven goals, 14 assists) in 19 appearances… The Avalanche owns a 1-1 record in overtime this season, the club went 5-8 in the extra frame last season (including shootouts)… Cale Makar is in a four-way tie for the league lead for points by a defenseman (Washington Capitals' John Carlson, Vancouver Canucks' Quinn Hughes and Montreal Canadiens' Jeff Petry)… Jacob MacDonald suited up for his first game of the campaign on Sunday.