Game Preview: Avalanche vs. Capitals

COLORADO AVALANCHE (55-14-6) VS. WASHINGTON CAPITALS (42-23-10)
7:00 PM MT | BALL ARENA WATCH: ALTITUDE 2LISTEN: 950 AM

As the final leg of a four-game homestand and the third-to-last home game of the regular season, the Colorado Avalanche host the Washington Capitals on Monday evening. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. MT.
Colorado, who now rides a nine-game winning streak and a lossless month so far, most recently hosted the Metropolitan Division-leading Carolina Hurricanes. The Avs secured a 7-4 victory led by Mikko Rantanen with three points (1G, 2A). Including Rantanen, 11 Avalanche players tallied at least one point.
The Avs will hit the road following the contest against Washington at home. The three-game road trip will start in Seattle facing the Kraken.

COLORADO-WASHINGTON CONNECTIONS

The Avalanche acquired Andre Burakovsky from Washington in 2019 in exchange for Scott Kosmachuk and a second and third-round pick in 2020. Burakovsky was a member of Washington's 2018 Stanley Cup championship team.

HISTORY

Colorado holds a 14-18-4 record since 1995 against Washington. The two teams have not played one another since October, a game the Avs dropped a 6-3 result on the road.
AVALANCHE VS CAPITALS
AVALANCHE ARTICLES
Game Recap: Avalanche Storm Past Hurricanes
Meyers Makes Most of NHL Debut
Avs Fine Tuning in Remainder of Regular Season
GAME EXTRAS
Avalanche 360
Avalanche Tickets

ROSTER REPORT

Former Minnesota Golden Gophers captain Ben Meyers made his debut with the Avalanche against the Carolina Hurricanes and scored in his first NHL contest.

SCOUTING THE CAPITALS

The Capitals have won five of their last six games, playing half of those six on the road. Washington is the fourth seed in the Metropolitan Division with 94 points, just three points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins. They currently maintain the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Caps rank 19th in the league in power play percentage (19.9%) and 10th in the league in penalty kill (81.8%).

(OPPOSING) PLAYER TO WATCH: John Carlson

Defenseman John Carlson leads the Capitals in assists at 52 and is seventh in the NHL in assists for a defenseman. He has tallied at least one assist in each of the past six contests.

NUMBERS GAME

2
With the win against Carolina, the Avalanche clinched their second straight division title and their 11th since moving to Denver.
9
Colorado has posted nine games with seven or more goals this season, the most in the NHL.
30
Nathan MacKinnon has reached the 30-goal mark for the fourth time in his career, the third-most 30-goal campaigns in Avalanche history. MacKinnon joins Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen in hitting 30 goals this season among the team.

NOTEBOOK

Colorado surpassed 30 home wins for the first time in franchise history and equaled their record for home points with 63... The Avs' defenseman have tallied 223 points, the most points by a group of defensemen on a team in the NHL since 2008-09.