Avalanche Opens First Road Trip at Capitals

The Colorado Avalanche opens its first road trip of the season against the Washington Capitals on Tuesday at Capital One Arena.
J.T. Compher had a goal and one assist, Nazem Kadri added two helpers and Tyson Jost and Andre Burakovsky also scored for the Avs in a 5-3 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Saturday.
The Capitals (1-0-1) are coming off a 2-1 overtime loss against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday. Tuesday's matchup will be the first of two meetings between the squads, with the Capitals traveling to Denver on April 18 for the last of their matchups for the season.

Washington finished the 2020-21 season with 77 points, making it to the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs before falling in five games in the first round against the Boston Bruins.

Avalanche at Washington Capitals

Capital One Arena | Washington, D.C.
| Game Time: | 5 p.m. MT | | --- | --- | | TV: | ESPN+, Hulu | | Radio: | Altitude Sports Radio, FM 92.5/AM 950 (KKSE) | | Live Streams: | ESPN+ | | Online Audio: | Listen Live Here | | Follow: | @Avalanche, Official app, Gamecenter |

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 14-17-4 record since 1995 against the Capitals. There have been 12 players since 1995 that recorded a five-point game against the Caps and two were Avs. Claude Lemieux turned in a hat trick and two assists in a 6-6 tie on Nov. 18, 1997, and 20 years later, almost to the day, Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and four assists in a 6-2 win on Nov. 16, 2017.

ROSTER REPORT

Forwards Mikhail Maltsev and Martin Kaut were recalled from the American Hockey League's Colorado Eagles Monday to join the Avs for the three-game road trip and center Dylan Sikura was reassigned to the Eagles. Defenseman Jack Johnson was cleared to travel with team Monday after missing Saturday's game in COVID protocol.

INJURY REPORT

Nathan MacKinnon has been in COVID-19 protocol since Oct. 12. Valeri Nichushkin is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury. Goaltender Pavel Francouz is out three-to-four weeks after suffering a lower-body injury in a preseason game on Oct. 5 versus the Vegas Golden Knights. Blueliner Devon Toews (upper body) remains a non-contact participant at practice and is on Colorado's three-game road trip. Stefan Matteau will be out for weeks with a lower-body injury he suffered in Saturday's game.

SCOUTING THE CAPITALS

Washington is currently 1-0-1, starting its season off with a win against the New York Rangers and a recent loss in overtime to the Stanley Cup champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Caps finished the 2020-21 season with 77 points and a 36-15-5 record

(OPPOSING) PLAYER TO WATCH: Alex Ovechkin

Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin was named the NHL's 2nd Star of the Week on Monday. The Washington captain began his 17th NHL season with two goals and two assists for four points in a 5-1 opening-night victory over the New York Rangers on Wednesday. In total, Ovechkin has five points (three goals, two assists) in two games this year as the Capitals opened the season earning three of a possible four points (1-0-1).

NUMBERS GAME

.742

The Avs, who haven't faced an Eastern Conference opponent since March 2020, finished 21-6-4 (.742) against Eastern Conference opponents in 2019-20, the best record of any team against the East.

2+

It is the Avalanche's first visit to the nation's capital in over two years. The last time the team played at Capital One Arena was Oct. 14, 2019, and Colorado came out on top with a 6-3 win.

18

Colorado and Washington will close out their season series on April 18 in Denver.

NOTEBOOK

The Avs will head to Florida next where they will face the Panthers on Thursday before wrapping up the trip on Saturday at the Tampa Bay Lightning… The Avalanche's 21 wins against the Eastern Conference in 2019-20 matched the 2013-14 club for the most victories by an Avs team against the Eastern Conference (despite playing one fewer interleague game), while Colorado's 46 points were its most-ever against the other conference… Since Jared Bednar's second season of 2017-18, the Avs are 56-27-12 (.653) against the Eastern Conference, the best record of any Western Conference team.