Colorado Avalanche (21-15-0) @ Utah Hockey Club (16-12-6)
7:30 p.m. MT | Delta Center | Watch: ESPN2 | Listen: Altitude Sports Radio (950 AM)
The Avalanche return from the NHL holiday break for a rubber match against their Rocky Mountain foes to the west, the Utah Hockey Club. The teams have split their first two matchups of the season, with the Avs winning 5-1 in Salt Lake City on October 24 and Utah winning 4-1 in Denver on December 12.
Latest Result (COL): SEA 2, COL 5
Latest Result (UTA): DAL 3, UTA 2
Defending Home Ice
The Avalanche beat the Seattle Kraken 5-2 at Ball Arena on Sunday. Joel Kiviranta posted a natural hat trick while Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen each recorded two assists. Cale Makar opened the scoring on the power play with his 11th goal of the season at 10:05 of the first period. The Kraken responded to tie the game when Jared McCann scored at 17:55 of the first and took the lead at 4:01 of the second with a goal from Kaapo Kakko. Colorado then answered with an avalanche of goals, starting with Valeri Nichushkin’s 11th of the season at 4:12, finishing off a rebound created by an end-to-end rush from Nathan MacKinnon. Kiviranta gave the Avs a 3-2 lead at 12:01 of the second with a right-circle one-timer off Mikko Rantanen’s centering feed. In the third period, Kiviranta completed his first-career regular-season hat trick with empty-net goals at 17:26 and 18:28. With his hat trick, Kiviranta has posted 10 goals this season, setting a new career high.
Among the NHL’s Elite
Nate the Great
MacKinnon leads the league in points (57) and assists (43). In his last five games, he posted 10 points (3g/7a).
All Hail Cale
Makar leads NHL defensemen in points (45) and is tied for first among blueliners in goals (11) and assists (34). Among all skaters, he’s tied for ninth in points and tied for fifth in assists.
Moose Crossing
Rantanen is tied for second in the league in points (52), eighth in assists (33), and tied for eighth in goals (19).
Defeat Against Dallas
The Utah Hockey Club lost 3-2 to the Dallas Stars at the Delta Center on Monday. Dallas’ Colin Blackwell opened the scoring at 11:02 of the first before Kevin Stenlund tied the game at 11:42 of the opening frame. In the second period, Dallas scored twice with goals from Roope Hintz at 12:39 and Jamie Benn at 17:50. Utah’s Barrett Hayton put his team within one at 11:39 of the third but the Stars held on to win.
Top Scorers from Salt Lake City
Clayton Keller leads Utah in points (36) and assists (23) while being second in goals (13).
Dylan Guenther leads Utah in goals (16) and is second in points (32).
Logan Cooley is tied for second on the team in assists (22) and third in points (30).
A Numbers Game
12
The Avalanche’s 12 wins on the road this season are tied for the second most in the NHL.
197
MacKinnon’s 197 points (65g/132a) since the start of the 2023-24 season are the most in the NHL.
90.3
The Avalanche’s 90.3% penalty kill in the month of December is the fourth best in the NHL.
Quote That Left a Mark
“I think we challenged ourselves as a group. Coaching staff down that we want to be really good these last three, four, five, games here. We dropped a couple, starting with Utah there. [I] felt like we really picked it up for the last three [games]. For us to go into the break like that, I think it’s a good high note, but [we’ve] still got a lot of work to do, especially in the second half.”
-- Cale Makar on the team’s recent performances
