COLORADO AVALANCHE (41-20-5) VS VANCOUVER CANUCKS (42-17-7)
8:30 PM MDT | ROGERS ARENA | WATCH: ALTITUDE TV | LISTEN: 950 AM
Colorado will finish its season-series against Vancouver this Wednesday at Rogers Arena. The Avalanche and the Canucks both enter tonight with a four-game winning streak. Colorado has outscored their opponents 20-5 in that stretch while Vancouver has scored 12 to their contender’s three during its streak.
Latest Results:
March 12, 2024 COL: 6 CGY: 2
March 10, 2024 VAN: 5 WPG: 0
EXTINGUISING THE FLAMES
Last night at the Scotiabank Saddledome, Colorado secured a win against the Calgary Flames, completing the season series with a 3-0-0 record against them. This victory extends Colorado's winning streak over Calgary to five games, which is the fourth-longest streak the franchise has achieved against the Flames. The Avalanche equaled their season-high for goals in a single period by scoring five in the second frame, a feat they previously accomplished on Oct. 21 and Nov. 15. After trailing 2-1 in the first period, the Avs win marked the 20th comeback victory for Colorado in 2023-24, the second time in three seasons that the team has recorded at least 20 wins after trailing in a game.
AVS ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Nathan MacKinnon was named NHL’s First Star of the Week. He led the NHL in assists and points (3g/7a), extending his home point streak to 32 games. The centerman enters tonight with a six-point lead over Nikita Kucherov in the Art Ross race, the largest lead he’s had this season.
Mikko Rantanen recorded 2g/2a last night, reaching 600 career points in just 556 games. This places him as the fifth-fastest player to achieve this milestone in the history of the Avalanche/Nordiques franchise, after Peter Stastny (394 games), Peter Forsberg (483 games), Joe Sakic (487 games), and Michel Goulet (504 games).
Casey Mittelstadt netted his first goal for the Avalanche, while both Brandon Duhaime and Sean Walker recorded their first assists with the team.
HISTORY
The Avalanche/Nordiques own an all-time record of 81-67-15-11 against the Canucks. On the road, the franchise has a 39-35-7-6 tally against them. This upcoming game marks the teams' third and final meeting of the season, with Colorado having won the previous two encounters on Nov. 22, 2023, and Feb. 20, 2024. Over their last 10 matchups, the Avalanche have emerged victorious in six instances. A win tonight would mark the Avs' first four-game win streak over the Canucks since an eight-game run from Dec. 23, 2007 - Dec. 7, 2008.
WINNIPEG WIPEOUT
On Sunday, Vancouver shutout the Winnipeg Jets 5-0. Thatcher Demko and Casey DeSmith combined to record the third shared shutout in Canucks history following Dec. 6, 2011 (6-0 W vs Colorado) and Feb. 22, 2015 (4-0 W at NYI). Demko secured his 34th win of the season, the highest of any NHL netminder. It was the Canucks’ seventh shutout of the season, tying them for the second-most in the NHL alongside the Arizona Coyotes.
STATS TO KNOW
Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar each recorded the first four-point game of their NHL careers against Vancouver (MacKinnon, Feb.20, 2018; Makar, Nov. 16, 2019). Together, they have registered an all-time total of 39 points (11g/28a) against the Canucks.
Throughout his career, Mikko Rantanen has recorded a point in all but three encounters against the Canucks, totaling 27 (13g/14a) in 17 games, with nine of those resulting in multi-point performances.
Alexandar Georgiev has a 3-1-0 record against the Canucks during his time with the Avalanche. Across four games, he has a goals-against average of 1.77 and a save percentage of .944.
CANUCKS COMMENDATIONS
Demko was named NHL’s Third Star of the Week. He stopped 62 of 64 shots this week and ranks among all netminders in save percentage at .917 (T-5) and goals against average at 2.47 (T-7). However, the netminder will not be available Wednesday night due to a lower-body injury.
Quinn Hughes leads all blueliners in points this campaign, tallying 76 (13g/63a) in 66 games. He ranks fourth in the NHL in assists, trailing MacKinnon (72). Hughes became the sixth-highest defenseman in NHL history for the most multi-assist games before the age of 25.
J.T. Miller leads Vancouver in points in 2023-24, accumulating 85 (32g/53a) in 66 games. This places him seventh in the NHL, following MacKinnon who leads with 113.
Vancouver is ranked second in wins (42) and tied in points (91) in the NHL this season. The club is leading the Pacific Division with a 10-point margin ahead of their closest opponent.
NUMBERS GAME
13
MacKinnon recorded 1g/1a on Tuesday night, extending his point streak to 13 games (9g/19a), currently the longest streak in the NHL.
500
Valeri Nichushkin skated in his 500th career NHL game against Calgary and collected 1g/2a.
25
Devon Toews recorded two assists on Tuesday, reaching his 25th multi-assist game in his career, eighth-most among all Avalanche/Nordiques defensemen.
QUOTE(S) THAT LEFT A MARK
“We were skating and playing well in the offensive zone. We were defending well. We made them make turnovers in the neutral zone and we were quick (in the other direction) always. When we play like that, I would say it was it is harder for teams to play against us.”
- Colorado RW Mikko Rantanen on Tuesday’s Game against Calgary
