Avs Conclude Back-to-Back Against Coyotes

The Colorado Avalanche hosts the Arizona Coyotes in the final matchup between the clubs this season. It is the second half of a back-to-back set for both the Avs and Coyotes.
Colorado (28-9-4) completed a two-game series sweep against the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday, defeating the squad 4-1. Gabriel Landeskog tallied his team-leading seventh game-winning goal of the season, and he added two assists for his fifth three-point outing of the campaign and reached 500 career points. Nathan MacKinnon extended his point streak to nine games with a goal and an assist--finding the back of the net for the fifth time over his last six games--while Ryan Graves potted his first marker of the year. Netminder Jonas Johansson earned his third straight victory, stopping 24-of-25 shots.

The Coyotes (19-18-5) were shutout 1-0 by the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday, going scoreless for the fifth time this season. Jakob Chychrun led the team with 26:48 of ice time and Conor Garland registered a team-high three shots on goal. Goaltender Adin Hill made 28 saves in his 14th start of the campaign.
Monday's contest marks the third team the Avs will have finished their eight-game, regular-season series against, with the Coyotes joining the Ducks and Minnesota Wild.

Avalanche vs. Arizona Coyotes

Ball Arena | Denver, Colo.
| Game Time: | 7:00 p.m. | | --- | --- | | TV: | Altitude 2 (blackouts apply), Bally Sports-Arizona (ARI) | | Radio: | Altitude Sports Radio, FM 92.5 (KKSE) | | Live Streams: | AltitudeNow.com, Official app (blackouts apply to all) | | Online Audio: | Listen Live Here | | Follow: | @Avalanche, Official app, Gamecenter |

COLORADO-ARIZONA CONNECTIONS

Arizona's Derick Brassard finished the 2018-19 season with the Avalanche… Arizona head coach Rick Tocchet was an assistant coach for Colorado from 2002-2004.

HISTORY

Through the first seven matchups between the squads this season, the Avalanche sports a 5-1-1 mark after putting together a dominant performance in the previous meeting on Match 31, defeating the Coyotes 9-3 at Ball Arena. Joonas Donskoi registered a hat trick just 7:31 into the opening frame, while 14 different players found the scoresheet and seven skaters recorded multi-point efforts. At home this year, Colorado holds a 2-1-0 record versus Arizona, as Andre Burakovsky, Gabriel Landeskog and Joonas Donskoi have all combined for three goals and one assist in those three previous matchups. Mikko Rantanen (one goal, three assists) and Samuel Girard (four assists) also have totaled four points against the Yotes at Ball Arena this season.
The Avs boast a 52-31-11 mark against the Coyotes franchise since 1995-96, including a 6-3-1 record in their last 10 meetings at Ball Arena. Colorado has met Arizona in the second half of a back-to-back set twice this campaign, owning a 1-0-1 mark in such games.

ROSTER REPORT

Colorado used the same roster for the second straight game on Sunday, but Valeri Nichushkin skated on the second line with Nazem Kadri and Andre Burakovsky while Brandon Saad played on the left wing of Tyson Jost and Joonas Donskoi. Philipp Grubauer will get his 33rd start in net this season on Monday after having Sunday off.

INJURY UPDATE

Bowen Byram is on the NHL's COVID-19-protocol list and is also dealing with an upper-body injury as well. Logan O'Connor (lower body) and Matt Calvert (upper body) are both out week-to-week with their ailments. Pavel Francouz (lower body) and Erik Johnson (upper body) will likely miss the remainder of the regular season.

SCOUTING THE COYOTES

Arizona holds a 19-18-5 mark through the first 42 games of the season, with a 9-10-2 record on the road and is one point out of the last playoff spot in the West Division with 43 points, trailing the St. Louis Blues (44). The club is currently on a season-long, nine-game road trip, owning a 3-4-0 mark so far on the trip but has dropped three consecutive contests (0-3-0). The Coyotes sport the third-best penalty kill on the road in the league, extinguishing 86.1 percent of its penalties. Overall, the squad's man-down unit ranks 10th in the NHL, killing penalties at an 82.3-percent clip.
Monday's matchup concludes the Yotes' seventh back-to-back set of the season. In the second game of such series, the team possesses a 4-1-1 record, averaging 4.00 goal per game and allowing 3.17 notches per contest.

(OPPOSING) PLAYER TO WATCH: NICK SCHMALTZ

Nick Schmaltz has been a steady producer on the offensive end this season for Arizona, tallying 10 goals and 16 assists in 42 games and has registered at least a point in six of his last nine outings. The forward ranks fifth on the Coyotes in points (26), goals (tied), assists (tied) and plus-minus rating (minus-1). Schmaltz is in his fifth NHL season--his second full campaign in an Arizona sweater--and has recorded 176 points (55 goals, 121 assists) in 291 career contests.
In 18 all-time meetings versus the Avs, the forward has three goals and six assists, with a one helper in seven matchups this year.

NUMBERS GAME

16

Colorado has held its opponents to one goal or less in 16 contests this season, the most in the league. The club boasts a 15-1-0 mark when giving up less than two goals while accomplishing the feat in two straight matchups.

60

The Avalanche became the first team in the NHL to reach 60 points this season, the fastest Colorado team to reach the 60-point mark (41 games). The Avs matched the franchise record for the quickest to reach 60 points set by the 1994-95 Quebec Nordiques.

500

Gabriel Landeskog notched his 500th career NHL point on Sunday with a goal and two assists, becoming the fifth player in Avalanche history (since 1995-96) and eighth in franchise history to reach the 500-point mark. He is the second player from the 2011 NHL Draft class to hit the 500-point threshold, joining Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov, and the 29th Swedish player in the NHL to reach the milestone.

NOTEBOOK

The Avs improved to 6-1-0 in the first game of back-to-back sets this season and own a 3-0-3 record in the second half of such contests… Cale Makar has tallied four goals and 24 assists in 29 contests this year, recording 0.97 points per game to lead all NHL defensemen who have played in more than one game… Nathan MacKinnon has fired 157 shots on net this campaign, the third most in the NHL, while Mikko Rantanen's 138 shots on goal are tied for the seventh most in the league… The Avalanche sports a 17-4-2 mark on home ice and ranks second in the NHL with 17 victories. Colorado has won four straight at Ball Arena and is on a season-best 12-game point streak (11-0-1)… Devon Toews sports a plus-24 rating this season, which ranks second in the league. The blueliner has recorded a positive plus-minus rating in four of his last five contests.