Colorado Hosts Arizona on Wednesday

The Colorado Avalanche continues its six-game homestand as it faces off against the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday in the first game in front of a crowd at Ball Arena since March 11, 2020. It is the seventh contest of the eight-game season series between the clubs.
The Avs are coming off a 5-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Monday, extending their season-long point streak to 11 games (9-0-2) and improving to 22-8-4 on the campaign.
Colorado netminder Philipp Grubauer earned his 100th career victory with a 13-save performance to become the third German goaltender to reach the century mark. Cale Makar registered three assists for the third time this season, while five different players found the back of the net for the squad. Mikko Rantanen picked up his 20th marker of the year--third-most in the NHL--and Gabriel Landeskog tallied his team-leading sixth power-play goal of the season.

Arizona shutout the San Jose Sharks 4-0 on Saturday for its third straight win as Adin Hill stopped all 34 shots in his second career clean sheet. Phil Kessel notched his seventh NHL hat trick, lengthening his point streak to five games, and Clayton Keller also collected a multi-point effort with a goal and two assists as he found the scoresheet for the third consecutive game.
Colorado is hosting health care providers, frontline staff and first responders for the contest at Ball Arena before ticketed fans are allowed into games starting on Friday. Wednesday's game was previously scheduled for Feb. 9 before being postponed due to league COVID-19 protocols.

Avalanche vs. Arizona Coyotes

Ball Arena | Denver, Colo.
| Game Time: | 7:30 p.m. | | --- | --- | | TV: | Altitude (blackouts apply), Fox 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 six matchups between the squads this season, the Avalanche owns a 4-1-1 mark after splitting the last two-game set at Gila River Arena on March 22-23. Colorado won the first meeting of the back-to-back-set with a dominant 5-1 performance behind Joonas Donskoi's two-goal night. In the second half of the set, the Avs fell 5-4 in a shootout after the Coyotes stormed back from a 4-2 third period deficit with goals from Lawson Crouse and Phil Kessel to tie the contest. At Ball Arena this year, Colorado holds a 1-1-0 record versus Arizona with Andre Burakovsky (one goal, one assist) and Samuel Girard (two assists) leading the team on the offensive end.
All time, Colorado sports a 51-31-11 mark against the Coyotes (since 1995-96), including a 25-14-6 mark on home ice. The teams will round out their season series on April 12 in the Mile High City.

ROSTER REPORT

Colorado used the same lineup for the second straight game on Monday and is likely to use the same squad for Wednesday's contest. Head Coach Jared Bednar noted on Tuesday that he has not decided on which goalie will start in net yet, but backup Jonas Johansson could return to the crease soon.

INJURY UPDATE

Bowen Byram (upper body) participated in Tuesday's optional practice but won't be an option for Wednesday, according to coach Bednar. Matt Calvert is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury. Pavel Francouz (lower body) and Erik Johnson (upper body) are both out long term with injuries.

SCOUTING THE COYOTES

Arizona owns a 16-14-5 mark through 35 games this season and a 6-6-2 record on the road. The squad has 37 points and is one point out of the final playoff spot in the West Division. The Coyotes have won three straight games for the second time this campaign and have been victorious in four out of their last five (4-1-0) after sweeping a two-game set against the Sharks on Friday and Saturday. Clayton Keller (11 goals, 17 assists) leads the club in points and assists (tied), while Phil Kessel (14 goals, 12 assists) owns the most goals and man-advantage points (10).
In 45 all-time games on the road versus the Avalanche (since 1995-96), the Coyotes possess a 18-19-8 record. In the last five contests at Ball Arena, the squad has a 1-1-3 mark.
Arizona's outing in Denver is the start of a season-long, nine-game road trip that stretches from March 31-April 14.

(OPPOSING) PLAYER TO WATCH: CHRISTIAN DVORAK

Christian Dvorak has been solid piece in Arizona's offense as the forward has put together 11 goals and nine assists in 35 games this campaign. Dvorak ranks tied for fifth on the club in scoring, while tallying the most markers on the man advantage and tied for the second-most overall (tied).
The Palos, Illinois, native is in his fifth season with the Yotes, registering 61 goals and 74 helpers in 281 career contests. When facing the Avs, Dvorak has notched two goals and one assist in 15 meetings, including one assist in six matchups this season.

NUMBERS GAME

11

Colorado owns an 11-2-3 record in March and its 11 wins equal the most victories in a single month in franchise history. Philipp Grubauer has been in between the pipes for each of the 11 wins (11-2-1), setting a new franchise record for the most victories by a goaltender in a month.

40

The Avalanche has recorded 40 or more shots on net eight times this season, the most such performances in the NHL. When outshooting its opponent, the club owns a 19-6-2 mark and has the most wins in the league when putting more pucks on net.

61+51

Ryan Graves leads the Avs in both blocked shots (61) and hits (51). He led the squad in blocked shots last season with 150 and ranked second in hits with 112.

NOTEBOOK

The Avs' 11-game point streak is one contest shy of matching the longest point streak of any team this campaign, as the New York Islanders earned at least a point in 12 consecutive games from Feb. 22-March 14… Colorado sports the second-most wins (tied) and points (30) on home ice this season, putting together a 14-4-2 mark… Over the last 10 games, the Avalanche has earned 18 out of 20 possible points (8-0-2), the most that any team has collected over that span… Mikko Rantanen has tallied 12 times in March and is tied with Milan Hejduk (February 2003) for the second-most goals by an Avalanche player in a single month since the team moved to Denver… Gabriel Landeskog has notched a team-best six goals on the power play this season and ranks tied for second in overall markers with 12. His six tallies on the man advantage is tied for the 13th-most in the league… The Avalanche has recorded 48 goals at even strength on home ice, the second most in the league. Overall, the squad has given up the sixth-fewest tallies while playing 5-on-5 hockey, allowing just 54 markers.