Avalanche Wraps Up Road Trip at Ducks

The Colorado Avalanche closes out its four-game road trip against the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday, the final contest of the regular season between the clubs. It is the first matchup of a back-to-back set for the Avs as the team heads back to Denver for one game versus the Arizona Coyotes on Monday.
Colorado defeated Anaheim 2-0 on Friday, holding an opponent scoreless for the sixth time this season and improving to 27-9-4 on the campaign. Valeri Nichushkin and Mikko Rantanen both registered a goal for the squad as netminder Jonas Johansson collected his first career shutout. Nathan MacKinnon registered an assist to extend his point streak to eight contests, while Ryan Graves and Tyson Jost each added an assist.

The Ducks (12-22-7) were held scoreless in a full 60 minutes for just the second time this year. Netminder John Gibson fought off 33-of-34 shots in his 27th start of the season as club put 28 shots on net.

Avalanche at Anaheim Ducks

Honda Center | Anaheim, Calif.
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COLORADO-ANAHEIM CONNECTIONS

Ducks defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk was Colorado's first-round draft choice in 2007 (No. 14 overall) and began his career with the Avalanche in 2010-11… Ducks forward Andrew Agozzino was with the Colorado organization from 2013-2016 and 2017-2019... Anaheim forward Danton Heinen played at the University of Denver from 2014-16… Ducks forward Troy Terry was born in Denver and also skated at the University of Denver from 2015-18.

HISTORY

The Avalanche boasts an all-time 47-35-19 record against the Ducks, including a 6-2-2 mark in the last 10 times the clubs have met. This season, Colorado sports a 5-1-1 record as the squad has won three consecutive contests.
Gabriel Landeskog's 25 points (10 goals, 15 assists) rank fourth all time versus Anaheim, while Nathan MacKinnon's 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) are the sixth most in franchise history. Valeri Nichushkin has registered at least a point in five straight meetings against the Ducks (four goals, three assists) with multi-point efforts in two of those five and Mikko Rantanen extended his goal streak to four contests against the Ducks.

ROSTER REPORT

Keaton Middleton suited up in his first NHL game on Friday in place of Jacob MacDonald, who was out due to a two-game suspension. Colorado had an optional practice on Saturday and its lineup will likely be the same for the second straight game.
The Avs acquired veteran goaltender Devan Dubnyk and defenseman Patrik Nemeth over the last two days. Dubnyk drove to Anaheim to join the squad on Saturday and Nemeth will meet the club in Denver on Monday, according to head coach Jared Bednar. Bednar also noted that as of his availability on Saturday, he hadn't decided which goaltender will start on Sunday afternoon against the Ducks.

INJURY UPDATE

Bowen Byram (upper body) was placed on the NHL's protocol list on Friday and is 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 ailments. Pavel Francouz (lower body) and Erik Johnson (upper body) are likely to be out for the remainder of the regular season, according to Bednar.

SCOUTING THE DUCKS

In 50 all-time games on home ice against the Avalanche, the Ducks possess a 25-18-7 record. In the last five contests of the series at Honda Center, the squad has a 2-2-1 mark.
Overall, Anaheim sits in eighth place in the West Division with 31 points (12-22-7) and is 3-6-1 over its last 10 contests. At home, the squad owns a 5-13-4 mark and has lost four straight contests (0-3-1). Max Comtois (11 goals, 12 assists), Rickard Rakell (seven goals, 15 assists) and Adam Henrique (11 goals, six assists) have led the way offensively for the club, while Henrique ranks first in scoring against the Avalanche this year with three goals and five assists.

(OPPOSING) PLAYER TO WATCH: ADAM HENRIQUE

Adam Henrique has been a reliable source for offensive production this season as the forward has put together 11 goals and six assists in 37 games. Henrique ranks third on the club in scoring, while tallying the most markers (tied) on the squad and has two points on the man advantage (one goal, one assist).
The Brantford, Ontario, native is in his 10th NHL season (fourth with the Ducks), registering 197 goals and 198 helpers in 702 career contests. When facing the Avs, the veteran has notched six goals and nine assists in 25 meetings, including three goals and five assists in six matchups this season.

NUMBERS GAME

5X7

Nathan MacKinnon has registered 15 goals and 33 assists in 36 games this season, the sixth-most assists and tied for the sixth-most points in the league. The forward has collected at least a point in eight consecutive meetings (five goals, eight assists), the longest active streak in the NHL.

28

Colorado has scored the first goal of the game a league-best 28 times this season and is 23-3-2 when lighting the lamp first, the most wins in the NHL.

58

The Avalanche equaled its best record after 40 games in franchise history (58 points), going 27-9-4 on the season. The club has won six of its last seven and contests has recorded at least a point in 16 out of the last 17 games.

NOTEBOOK

The Avalanche is 5-1-0 in the first matchups of back-to-back sets this season… Keaton Middleton is the 14th different defensemen to play for Colorado in 2020-21, the club's most blueliners since dressing 16 in 2010-11. It's just the third time since moving to Denver that the Avs have dressed 14 or more defensemen in a single campaign (also 14 in 2008-09)… The Avs sport a 2-1-0 mark on its current road trip and a 10-5-2 overall record away from home… Mikko Rantanen's 23 tallies this campaign are tied for second-most in the NHL (Connor McDavid)… The Avalanche has held an opponent scoreless in six games this season, tied with Carolina and the New York Islanders for the most shutouts this season. Colorado's 2.35 goals against per game ranks third in the NHL… The Avalanche has notched the second-most shots on goal this year and the highest amount in the second period, putting 1,412 pucks on net overall and 500 in the second frame… The Avs have given away the puck just 216 times this campaign--the third-fewest in the league.