Toronto Maple Leafs (38-21-3) @ Colorado Avalanche (37-24-2)
5 p.m. MT | Ball Arena | Watch: My20, Altitude, Altitude+, NHL Network | Listen: Altitude Sports Radio (92.5 FM)
Winners of four-consecutive games, the Avalanche face the Toronto Maple Leafs for this first time this season in the fifth of a six-game homestand. This is the first of two meetings this season, as they’ll play in Toronto on March 19th.
Latest Result (COL): SJS 3, COL 7
Latest Result (TOR): TOR 2, VGK 5
Having a Ball
Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon combined for 11 points as the Avs defeated the San Jose Sharks 7-3 at Ball Arena on Thursday. Makar’s six points were a career-high, and he became the first defenseman to post at least two goals and at least four assists in a single game since Paul Coffey on March 14, 1986. Martin Necas, Artturi Lehkonen and Jonathan Drouin each posted two points. In net for Colorado, Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 31 of the 34 shots he faced against his former team.
Joel Kiviranta opened the scoring at 4:19 of the first period with his 12th goal of the season while the Avs were short-handed via a left-circle wrist shot. Makar doubled Colorado’s lead on the power play at 6:43 of the first period with his 23rd goal of the season via a one-timer from the top of the right circle. At 10:08 of the first, Fabian Zetterlund put the Sharks on the board with a power-play goal. The Avs took a 3-1 lead on the power play at 19:57 when Drouin scored his eighth goal of the season via a shot from below the right circle that finished off a majestic tic-tac-toe passing sequence from Lehkonen and Necas.
At 40 seconds of the middle frame, the Avs took a 4-1 lead on the power play when Necas scored his 21st goal of the season via a one-timer from the top of the left circle. MacKinnon scored his 24th goal of the year to make it 5-1 Avs at 10:54 of the second period with a shot from the goal line when he capitalized on the rebound off the end boards.
MacKinnon scored his second goal of the game and 25th of the season at 5:21 of the third period with a shot from the low slot to give the Avs a 6-1 lead. Makar picked up his 300th-career assist with the secondary helper on MacKinnon’s goal. Macklin Celebrini made it 6-2 with a power-play goal at 8:10 of the third period. At 9:00 of the third, Makar scored his second goal of the game and 24th of the season with a wrist shot from the point to give the Avs a 7-2 lead. At 17:24, San Jose’s William Eklund made it 7-3 and concluded Thursday’s scoring.
Avs at the Peak
Nate the Great
MacKinnon leads the NHL in points (98) and assists (73).
All Hail Cale
Makar leads NHL defensemen in points (74), goals (24) and assists (50). Among all NHL skaters, he’s seventh in assists and ninth in points.
A Marty Party
Necas is tied for eighth in the NHL in assists (49).
History
In 44 previous regular-season games against the Maple Leafs, the Avalanche are 23-18-3.
Wheelin’ and Dealin’
Ahead of the NHL trade deadline on March 7th, the Avalanche acquired centers Brock Nelson (20g/23a in 61 GP in 2024-25) and Charlie Coyle (15g/7a in 64 GP), winger Jimmy Vesey (4g/2a in 34 GP) along with defensemen Ryan Lindgren (2g/17a in 56 GP) and Erik Johnson (1g/2a in 22 GP).
A Loss in Las Vegas
The Maple Leafs lost 5-2 to the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday. The Golden Knights took a 3-0 lead in the first period after goals from Tomas Hertl at 4:33, Brett Howden at 11:18 and Jack Eichel on the power play at 15:03. In the second period, Noah Hanifin made it 4-0 at 17 seconds and Tanner Pearson gave the Golden Knights a 5-0 lead at 13:33. Auston Matthews put the Maple Leafs on the board with a power play goal at 18:01 of the second period and Mitch Marner made it 5-2 at 13:27 of the third.
Lighting the Lamp Against the Leafs
In 20 games against the Maple Leafs, all in the regular season, MacKinnon has posted 21 points (8g/13a).
Coyle has registered 20 points (4g/16a) in 28 regular-season games against the Maple Leafs in addition to six points (3g/3a) in 14 playoff games.
In 32 games against Toronto, all in the regular season, Nelson has recorded 18 points (7g/11a).
Toronto’s Team Leaders
Marner leads the Maple Leafs in points (77) and assists (58) while being fifth in goals (19).
William Nylander leads the Maple Leafs in goals (35), is second in points (63) and fourth in assists (28).
Matthews is second on the team in assists (30), tied for third in points (53) and fourth in goals (23).
A Numbers Game
3
MacKinnon is three points away from becoming the 100th player to record 1,000-career points.
42.3%
The Avalanche’s 42.3% mark on the power play since February 1st is the best in the NHL during that span.
2.10
Colorado is allowing 2.10 goals per game since February 1st which is the fourth-best mark in the league during that span.
Quote That Left a Mark
“We’re not in rebuild mode.”
-- Nathan MacKinnon on Thursday when speaking about the team’s acquisition of Brock Nelson
