COLORADO AVALANCHE (38-20-5) VS DETROIT RED WINGS (33-22-6)
7:30 PM MDT | BALL ARENA | WATCH: ALTITUDE TV & TNT | LISTEN: 92.5 FM
Colorado is set to conclude its season-series against Detroit this Wednesday at Ball Arena. The Avalanche have secured victories in eight out of their last nine home matchups, boasting a 23-6-0 record at Ball Arena for this campaign. The Red Wings have lost their two most recent games following a six-game winning streak and are 15-12-1 on the road this season.
Latest Results:
March 4, 2024 COL: 5 CHI: 0
March 2, 2024 FLA: 4 DET: 0
BEATING THE BLACKHAWKS
On Monday night at Ball Arena, the Colorado emerged victorious over the Chicago Blackhawks, marking its second 5-0 shutout against the Blackhawks within a span of just five days. The Avalanche dominated the season-series against the Blackhawks, winning three out of four games with a goal differential of +13 (16-3), and recording shutouts in all three victories. Colorado extended its home winnings streak versus Chicago to six consecutive games – the longest streak in franchise history against the Blackhawks. With a current season total of 81 points, Colorado is just two points shy of overtaking Winnipeg for the second spot in the Central Division.
AVS ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Nathan MacKinnon tallied four points on Monday (2g/2a), extending his season-opening home point streak to 30 games. This marks only the sixth occurrence in NHL history that a player has reached that milestone within a season. Mario Lemieux (1995-96) and Bryan Trottier (1981-82) have previously achieved similar feats, with streaks extending to 31 consecutive home games with at least one point.
Justus Annunen recorded back-to-back shutouts, making 37 saves and matching the franchise record for the most in a shutout by a rookie goaltender, a record he now shares with Marc Denis since November 3, 1999.
Cale Makar is the Avalanche/Nordiques record holder for most goals (79), points (312) and assists (233) by a defenseman. He accomplished each feat within his 296 career games.
HISTORY
The Avalanche own an all-time record of 60-61-5-6 against the Red Wings. At home, the Avs have a 31-27-4-4 tally against them. Leading up to their most recent encounter, Colorado held a 10-game winning streak against Detroit, spanning from Nov. 19, 2017 – Mar. 18, 2023. However, in their latest meeting on Feb. 22, the Avalanche were edged out in overtime with a final score of 2-1. The Avs have captured each of the last six head-to-head meetings in Denver.
CAUGHT BY THE CAT
On Saturday, the Red Wings were shutout by the Florida Panthers, 4-0, behind four different goal scorers for the Cats. Florida has managed to secure a point in its last 12 matchups against Detroit and hold a 13-2-0 record at Little Caesars Arena. Sergei Bobrovsky recorded his 30th win of the season, the seventh time he has achieved this milestone in his career. He joins Marc-Andre Fleury (9x) as the only other active goalie to have reached this mark.
STATS TO KNOW
Colorado’s run of 10 straight wins against Detroit came to an end following its most recent encounter with Detroit on Feb. 22. Starting November 19, 2017, it tied the longest winning streak registered against an NHL team in Avalanche/Nordiques history, set three other times (Buffalo, Columbus, Pittsburgh).
Nathan MacKinnon has registered at least one point in 11 straight games against the Red Wings. Since Mar. 18, 2017, he has recorded 22 points (13g/9a).
Cale Makar has picked up 12 points (3g/9a) in six games against Detroit in his career. This includes five multi-point games.
RED WINGS RECORDS
Detroit ranks fifth in the NHL for the most goals scored, tallying 214. They follow Colorado in the league-lead, who have netted 230 goals this campaign.
Patrick Kane's 10-game point streak (6g/9a) came to an end on Saturday afternoon. He matched Alex Delvecchio (1972-73) and Brett Hull (2002-03) for the sixth longest point streak by a player aged 35 or older.
After spending his first seven seasons with Colorado from 2016-23, J.T. Compher signed with Detroit in free agency this past summer. Compher was a member of the 2022 Stanley Cup Championship team, and his return to Ball Arena marks his first appearance as a visiting player.
NUMBERS GAME
10
MacKinnon's point streak extended to 10 consecutive games on Monday. This achievement marks the third occasion this season that he has reached double-digit figures in a point streak, tying Peter Stastny (1983-84) as the second player in the franchise to hit three double-digit streaks within a single season.
7
Annunen has distinguished himself as the seventh goaltender in NHL history to secure his initial two career shutouts against the same team, a feat that had not been accomplished since Mathieu Garon during his 2000-01 season against Atlanta.
24
With Monday's victory, Colorado achieved its 24th home win at Ball Arena this season. This equals the franchise's record for the most home victories within the first 30 home games of a season, a record set previously in 2021-22.
QUOTE(S) THAT LEFT A MARK
“We’re fortunate because we get to see (Colorado C Nathan MacKinnon) every day. But I mean, obviously his talent and everything [are] the obvious things, but the stuff that nobody gets to see is his preparation and everything to be his best every night. Those are the things we get to see behind the scenes and we appreciate, so he gets to put in the combination of the world-class talent and the effort.”
- Colorado D Jack Johnson on Nathan MacKinnon
