Ottawa Senators (4-3-0) @ Colorado Avalanche (4-4-0)
7 p.m. MT | Ball Arena | Watch: Altitude TV, Altitude+ | Listen: Altitude Sports Radio (92.5 FM)
The Avalanche return to Ball Arena and look to extend their winning streak as they host the Ottawa Senators. This will be the first of two meetings between the clubs this season as Ottawa will host Colorado on March 20.
Latest Result (OTT): OTT 4, VGK 6
Latest Result (COL): COL 5, UTA 1
Avalanche vs. Utah Hockey Club 10.24.24 Recap
The Avalanche won their fourth-straight game on Thursday when they beat Utah Hockey Club 5-1 in Salt Lake City. Ross Colton opened the scoring on the power play at 9:54 of the first period with his seventh goal of the season. Cale Makar extended his point streak to eight games with his third goal of the season to put Colorado ahead 2-0 at 18:20 of the opening period. The Avalanche took a 3-0 lead at 14:25 of the second period when Casey Mittelstadt scored his fifth goal of the season. At 17:33 of the second period, Ivan Ivan put the Avalanche up 4-0 on the power play with the first goal of his NHL career. Utah’s Lawson Crouse put his team on the board at 15:28 of the third period. As a response, the Burgundy and Blue secured their fifth goal of the night from Joel Kiviranta at 16:07 in the final frame.
Avs Accomplishments
With his goal on Thursday, Makar became the seventh defenseman in NHL history to score at least a point in each of the first eight games of the season. Makar is tied for second in the NHL in points with 15 (3g/12a).
Nathan MacKinnon has also started the season on an eight-game point streak and is tied for ninth in the NHL in points with 13 (3g/10a) along with his teammate Mikko Rantanen (4g/9a).
The next game MacKinnon plays in will be the 800th of his NHL career. He’s posted 912 points (338g/574a) in 799 games played.
History
In 41 previous meetings between the clubs, the Avalanche are 23-14-4 against the Senators. Additionally in their last 10 meetings, Colorado owns an 8-1-1 mark and has won its last four against Ottawa. In 2023-24, the Avalanche won 6-4 at Ball Arena and 7-4 at Canadian Tire Centre.
A Vegas Goal Fest
The Senators lost to the Vegas Golden Knights 6-4 on Friday. Adam Gaudette and Claude Giroux scored to give Ottawa a 2-0 first-period lead. Later on in the period, Vegas answered with goals by Nicolas Roy and Nicolas Hague before Drake Batherson put Ottawa up 3-2 late in the first period. Ivan Barbashev evened the score at 6:40 of the second period before Gaudette netted his second of the night at 17:44 of the middle frame to give Ottawa a 4-3 lead. Vegas scored all three goals in the third period with tallies from Tomas Hertl, Keegan Kolesar, and Barbashev to take home a 6-4 victory.
Stats to Know
Over his last three starts, Justus Annunen is 3-0-0 with a .949 save percentage, stopping 75 of 79 shots.
In 19 career games against the Senators, MacKinnon has posted 31 points (9g/22a), including seven points (4g/3a) in two contests last season.
Rantanen has posted 19 points (10g/9a) in 14 games against Ottawa, including four goals in a pair of games in 2023-24.
Senators by the Numbers
Batherson leads the Senators in goals with five and is tied for the team lead in points with nine.
Tim Stützle has posted three goals and six assists to put him in a tie with Batherson for the team lead in points.
Senators captain Brady Tkachuk is second on the team in points with eight (3g/5a).
Anton Forsberg leads Ottawa goaltenders with four games played and has a 2-1-0 record along with a .904 save percentage and a 2.94 goals against average.
Numbers Game
1
Since Oct. 18, when the Avalanche began their four-game winning streak, they are tied for first in goals against per game, allowing 1.75 over that span.
8
The Avalanche are tied for eighth in the NHL in goals per game with 3.63.
39.3
Colorado owns the league’s third-best power play at 39.3%. They’ve converted on 11 of 28 power-play opportunities.
Quote That Left a Mark
“He’s getting better every night. Just steady on both sides of the puck. He finds a way to chip in on the offensive side of it. He’s in on a really good shift on the Kiviranta goal late, he gets a power-play goal early. [He’s] spending more time in the offensive zone than in the d-zone. He’s looked really good. He’s grown nicely as a young player early in the season.”
-- Jared Bednar on the performance of rookie Ivan Ivan
