COLORADO AVALANCHE (9-5-0) VS ANAHEIM DUCKS (9-6-0)
7:00 PM MDT | BALL ARENA | WATCH: Altitude TV| LISTEN: 92.5 FM
The Colorado Avalanche take on the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night at Ball Arena for the first of three matchups between the two teams during the regular season. The Avalanche-Ducks tilt can be watched on Altitude TV, with puck drop scheduled for 7:00 p.m. MDT.
Latest Results:
November 13, 2023 | COL: 5, SEA: 1
November 14, 2023 | ANA: 3, NSH: 2
AVS MILE(HIGH) STONES
On Monday Jared Bednar collected his 300th career victory as an NHL head coach in his 550th game behind the bench. That’s tied for the 12th fewest games in NHL history to reach 300 career wins.
Colorado defenseman Sam Malinski made his NHL Debut in Seattle on November 13. With the Avalanche’s affiliate the Colorado Eagles, Malinski recorded six points to begin his first professional season.
HISTORY
Colorado owns a 53-36-7-12 all-time record against Anaheim, with a 27-20-4-3 mark at home. Last season the Avalanche went 2-1-0 against the Ducks with the lone loss coming at Ball Arena on January 26, 2023. The other matchups between the teams this season are set for December 2nd in Anaheim and December 5th in Denver.
Colorado goes into tonight’s matchup following a 5-1 win in the last showdown with Seattle during the regular season, while Anaheim posted a win to Nashville.
Mikko Rantanen continues to lead Colorado in points with 21 (10g/11a) on the season, followed by Cale Makar (4g/14a) and Nathan MacKinnon (6g/12a) with 18 points apiece. The trio of alternate captains enter tonight with simultaneous four-game point streaks.
MIGRATION PATTERNS
Former Colorado Eagles Head Coach Greg Cronin will face the Avalanche for the first time since making the jump to the Ducks this offseason. Cronin was the head coach of the Colorado Eagles for five seasons from 2018-2023, compiling a record of 164-104-30. Anaheim has begun the year with a 9-6-0 record with a 5-2-0 mark on the road.
The Ducks have defeated the Avalanche only once in the last 10 contests the two teams played each other, spanning from March 16, 2021 to April 9, 2023. The combined score from these 10 games is 43-21 in favor of Colorado.
THE BIRDS OF A FEATHER
There is a tie between Jakob Silfverberg and Cam Fowler who leads all active Ducks skaters with 20 career points against the Avalanche. Silfverberg has tallied 10 goals and 10 assists in 35 games, while Fowler has accumulated six goals and 14 assists in 41 games versus the Avalanche.
Fowler leads active Ducks in career assists with 14 versus Colorado. Of those 20 points, 14 (3g/11a) have been scored in Denver. Four out of his six total goals against Colorado have been scored on the power play, while two of his 14 assists have been power-play helpers.
Frank Vatrano and Mason McTavish lead the Ducks with 17 points during the campaign. Vatrano has notched 11g/5a, while McTavish recorded 7g/9a, both in 14 games played. Vatrano’s 11 goals are tied for third in the league.
Vatrano has tallied two hat tricks in 14 games this season, with the first being on Oct. 15 against Carolina and the second in Philadelphia on Oct. 28.
John Gibson is ranked ninth in the league for both his GAA (2.19) and SV% (.927). The Ducks other netminder, Lukas Dostal, has one career start against the Avalanche which resulted in a 5-4 overtime loss on April 9 in Anaheim.
Pavel Mintyukov is third among the league’s rookies with 10 points and second with nine assists.
The Ducks are the third-most penalized in the league with 193 penalty minutes.
NUMBERS GAME
33
Nathan MacKinnon paces active Avalanche scorers against the Ducks with 33 career points (14g/19a) in 29 games. When at home, MacKinnon has accumulated 18 of those points (8g/10a).
27
Mikko Rantanen is the leading goal-scorer against Anaheim with 15 goals in 24 games. He’s also notched 12 assists for a total of 27 points in those 24 games played. When at Ball Arena, Rantanen has tallied 14 points (11g/8a) in 11 games against the Ducks.
QUOTE(S) THAT LEFT A MARK
“I definitely feel lighter. Obviously it was a while coming. But to get a goal like that in the third period – and it was a great pass from Nate (MacKinnon) and just to bury one now – I have that weight off me now and we got a big win out of it.”
- Colorado Left Wing Jonathan Drouin on potting his first goal as an Avalanche
