Colorado Begins Homestand Against Vancouver

The Colorado Avalanche returns home Monday night to begin a four-game homestand against the Vancouver Canucks at Pepsi Center. The Avs are coming off a stretch that saw them play 13 of their last 16 contests on the road and enter Monday's game having not played two consecutive games on home ice since a three-game homestay that stretched from Jan. 15-20.
This is the third and final meeting between the two teams, as the Avalanche played in Vancouver on Jan. 30 and last Tuesday. Since the club relocated to Denver in 1995-96, Colorado is 57-41-17 all-time against the Canucks and has a 28-19-9 home mark in the series. The Avalanche's last home win over Vancouver was Oct. 24, 2014.

Last Time Out

The Avalanche dropped the last contest of its three-game road trip, falling 5-1 to the Calgary Flames on Saturday afternoon. Calgary took a 2-0 lead before the midway point of the opening period, but Nathan MacKinnon brought Colorado within one before the frame ended. That would be the only goal for the Avalanche, as the Flames scored three unanswered to seal the win. Colorado surrendered two power-play goals and was scoreless on one man-advantage opportunity.
The Canucks opened a back-to-back set with a 3-1 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday night. Jacob Markstrom made 41 saves, and Daniel Sedin scored twice to pace the Canucks, who snapped a two-game losing streak. The Canucks were 1-for-4 on the power play and held the Coyotes to one man-advantage goal on six chances.

Last Time They Met

Nathan MacKinnon scored a power-play goal, Colorado's fifth of the game, at 3:36 of overtime to lift the Avalanche to a 5-4 come-from-behind win over the Canucks on Tuesday. Tyson Barrie factored into every Avalanche goal to finish with five points (one goal and four assists), setting a single-game franchise record for points by a defenseman. The Avs trailed 4-1 late in the second period and overcame a three-goal deficit for the first time since Nov. 25, 2014 at Arizona.

What To Watch

Avs Return Home
Colorado returns to Denver after playing 13 of its last 16 contests on the road. The Avs are 20-8-1 at home in 2017-18 and has won nine of its last 10 outings at Pepsi Center. The Avalanche is averaging 3.52 goals per game on home ice, which ranks fifth in the NHL and third in the Western Conference this season.
Colorado's Penalty Kill
The Avalanche enters Monday's contest with the league's best penalty-kill unit at home, where it's allowed a league-low seven power-play goals this season (92.3 percent). The Avs are 7-for-7 on the kill in their last three home contests, with their last power-play goal surrendered coming on Jan. 20 against the New York Rangers. They'll face a Vancouver team whose road power play ranks second in the league at 23.6 percent.

Player To Watch

Colorado: Center Nathan MacKinnon
MacKinnon potted his 100th NHL tally when he scored the overtime-winner against the Canucks last week and was Colorado's lone goal scorer against the Flames on Saturday. He enters Monday's game third in the league in points per game at 1.70.
Vancouver: Right Wing Brock Boeser
One of the league's top rookies makes his only appearance at Pepsi Center this season. Boeser's 27 goals rank tops among first-year NHL players, while his 52 points are second. He's notched a point in each of the contests between the Avs and Canucks in 2017-18 (two assists).

The Details

Monday night's outing between the Avs and Canucks is set for 7 p.m. MT, and tickets are still available. The game can be watched live on Altitude TV, and the radio broadcast can be heard on Altitude Sports Radio AM 950 or online at ColoradoAvalanche.com.