Game Preview: Avalanche at Senators

COLORADO AVALANCHE (38-22-6) AT OTTAWA SENATORS (33-30-4)
5 PM MT | CANADIAN TIRE CENTREWATCH:ALTITUDELISTEN: 92.5FM/950 AM
The Colorado Avalanche face off against the Ottawa Senators Thursday night in the second game of a back to back. Coverage begins at 5 p.m. MT on Altitude Sports.

LAST TIME OUT

Colorado is coming off a 2-1 shootout win against Toronto on Wednesday night. Mikko Rantanen scored his team-leading 44th goal of the season, and Nathan MacKinnon netted the game-winner in the shootout. Alexandar Georgiev made 17 saves and turned away all three attempts in the shootout for his third-consecutive win.
The Senators enter Thursday's matchup after falling to the Edmonton Oilers 6-3 on Tuesday night. Tim Stützle notched two goals and netminder Mads Sogaard made 27 saves. Ottawa is 6-4-0 in their last 10 games.

HISTORY

Colorado owns an 33-17-6 record against the Senators, with a 13-12-4 mark on the road.
Since the franchise moved to Denver, the Avs hold a 20-14-4 record versus Ottawa.
Thursday's matchup is the second and final meeting between the two teams this season. In the first contest, the Avs came away with a 7-0 victory in Denver. Artturi Lehkonen and Alex Newhook both had two goals and an assist, and Mikko Rantanen found the back of the net twice. Brad Hunt recorded his second goal of the season. Pavel Francouz tallied his first shutout of the season and made 29 saves.

SCOUTING THE SENATORS

Stützle leads Ottawa in scoring with 73 points (34G, 39A) and tops the team in goals. Brady Tkachuk is in second with 67 points (27G, 40A), while Claude Giroux follows with 66 (28G, 38A).
The Senators rank top-10 in both power play (9th - 23.3%) and penalty kill (5th - 82.8%) in the league.

LINEUP UPDATES

Avalanche

Pavel Francouz Lower body
Darren HelmLower body
Erik Johnson Lower body
Gabriel LandeskogLower body
Josh Manson Lower body
Artturi Lehkonen Upper body

Senators

Thomas Chabot(Day to Day)
Mathieu Joseph (Day to Day)

DOING THE MOST

MacKinnon leads all-active Avs skaters with 21 points (5G, 16A) in 16 games against the Senators.
Rantanen has averaged 1.09 points per game (5G, 7A) in 11 games played against Ottawa.

BEHIND ENEMY LINES

Tkachuk has recorded seven points (4G, 3A) in six games against Colorado.

NUMBERS GAME

6-2-1
Colorado holds a 6-2-1 record in the second game of a back-to-back this season.
44th
Rantanen posted his 44th goal of the season Wednesay night in Toronto, which is currently tied for third in the NHL with Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl. His goal total is the most by a Finnish-born player since Teemu Selanne (48) in 2006-07.
16-10-3
The Avs are 16-10-3 against the Eastern Conference this season.
12-6
Colorado is now 12-6 in games decided beyond regulation, including a 5-3 record in shootouts. The Avs .667 win percentage in games going going past regulation is third in the league behind Winnipeg (.750) and Vancouver (.688).

QUOTE(S) THAT LEFT A MARK

"You come out on the road, and you're able to find a way to win, two games in a row on a start of a road trip. Mostly due to the defensive effort, but both nights, we'll take it all day long." - Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar on his team's effort