Avalanche Hosts Devils In Series Finale

The Colorado Avalanche continues a five-game homestand on Friday night, hosting the New Jersey Devils at Pepsi Center. The contest is the third contest of Colorado's five-game stay in Denver, as the Avs will host the Dallas Stars on Sunday and the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday before heading on the road for a four-city trip.
It's the second and final meeting of the season between the two teams, who clashed on Oct. 7 at Prudential Center, where the Devils took a 4-1 win.
Colorado is 16-13-4 all-time against the Devils and 10-5-1 on home ice in the overall series. The Avs have won the last six matchups at Pepsi Center.

Last Time Out

The Avs are coming off a 3-2 overtime win versus the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday night. Colorado rallied from a late one-goal deficit, as Nikita Zadorov tied the game just past the midway point of the third period to force the extra frame. In OT, Nathan MacKinnon notched his third game-winning goal of the season and his second overtime marker to seal the win for Colorado.
New Jersey last played on Monday night, falling 3-2 to the Florida Panthers at home. Florida led 1-0 after two periods, but the teams exchanged markers early in the final frame. The Panthers ultimately came out on top, scoring midway through the stanza and holding onto the one-goal lead to secure the victory. New Jersey surrendered a short-handed goal against for just the second time this season.

Last Time They Met

Will Butcher tallied three points in his NHL debut, helping the Devils to a 4-1 win over Colorado on Oct. 7. It was the second game of the new campaign for the Avs and the season opener for the Devils. New Jersey finished 3-for-4 on the power play and Cory Schneider made 40 saves in the win. The Avs' lone tally came off the stick of Carl Soderberg. Colorado goaltender Jonathan Bernier got the start in net and stopped 35 shots.

What to Watch

Avs Power Play
The Avs are 13-for-44 (29.5 percent) with the man advantage on home ice this season, the third-best home power play in the league. Colorado has also scored a man-advantage goal in nine of its 11 home contests. Mikko Rantanen leads the team with six power-play goals this season, which is tied for sixth among league skaters.
Home vs. Road
With Wednesday's win, the Avalanche improved to 8-2-1 at home this season, tied for the ninth-best home record in the NHL. A team that's been strong at home welcomes a squad that has been successful away from its home barn in the Devils, who's 8-2-2 road record is tops in the league.
New Face on the Opposing Bench
The Devils made headlines on Thursday when they acquired defenseman Sami Vatanen and a conditional third-round selection in the 2019 or 2020 NHL Draft from Anaheim in exchange for Adam Henrique, Joseph Blandisi and New Jersey's third-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft. Vatanen could make his Devils debut on Friday.

Player to Watch

Colorado: Defenseman Nikita Zadorov
The Avs' big blueliner scored the game-tying goal on Wednesday night to send the contest against the Jets to overtime. Zadorov has scored in two consecutive games for the first time in his career, and the tally also gave him three on the season, matching a career high (2014-15).

New Jersey: Left Wing Taylor Hall
While he didn't get on the scoresheet on Monday against Florida, Hall has notched five points (two goals and three assists) in his last three outings. He leads the Devils in assists (18) and points (26) and has accumulated 28 points (14 goals and 14 assists) in 24 career games against the Avs.

The Details

Friday night's clash is slated 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.