Avalanche Finishes Back-to-Back Against Ducks on Saturday

The Colorado Avalanche hosts the Anaheim Ducks in the second game of a back-to-back set at Ball Arena on Saturday.
Colorado defeated the Ducks 3-2 in overtime in the first matchup of the two straight outings between the clubs on Friday, improving to 13-7-1 on the season and 2-1-0 versus the Ducks. The Avalanche fought back from a two-goal deficit as Valeri Nichushkin scored twice, including his first-career overtime marker. Brandon Saad finished with one goal and two assists, while Dan Renouf added a helper for his first-career NHL point. Goaltender Philipp Grubauer stopped 26-of-28 shots, earning his 12th victory on the season.

For Anaheim, Adam Henrique and Jakob Silfverberg each notched a goal and Rickard Rakell found the scoresheet for the fourth successive game, collecting an assist. Netminder John Gibson made 31 saves in his fourth straight start.
Saturday's matchup marks the first time since Oct. 23-24, 2009 the Avs have hosted two-consecutive contests at home.

Avalanche at Anaheim Ducks

Ball Arena | Denver, Colo.
| Game Time: | 6 p.m. MT | | --- | --- | | TV: | Altitude, Fox Sports-San Diego (ANA) | | 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-ANAHEIM CONNECTIONS

Avalanche forward Kiefer Sherwood spent two seasons as a part of the Ducks organization from 2018-20… 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… 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

Colorado boasts an all-time 44-35-18 mark against Anaheim, with a 7-9-5 record when facing the Ducks in the second half of a back-to-back set. The Avs have hosted the when playing on the second consecutive night seven times in franchise history, owning a 2-5-0 mark in such matchups. Gabriel Landeskog ranks fifth on Colorado's all-time scoring lists against Anaheim with nine goals and 13 assists, and fourth in power-play tucks (four) in 29 meetings.
The franchises have met in one postseason series, facing off in the 2006 Western Conference Semifinals as the Avs fell to the Ducks in four games.

ROSTER REPORT

Goaltender Hunter Miska is expected to make his fourth start of the season in net. On offense, head coach Jared Bednar said after Friday's contest that he does not suspect Nathan MacKinnon to be available but Matt Calvert could return to game action on Saturday.

INJURY UPDATE

Nathan MacKinnon participated in the morning skate on Friday but did not play in the contest with an upper-body injury and is expected to miss Saturday's game. Bowen Byram (upper body) and Matt Calvert (upper body) are progressing from their respective injuries and skated before Friday's morning skate, while Calvert also stayed on the ice with the team for the pregame practice. Cale Makar is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Head coach Jared Bednar said Dennis Gilbert (upper body) can start doing off-ice workouts after having surgery, but the defenseman was added to the NHL COVID-19 protocol list on Friday. Pavel Francouz (lower body) and Erik Johnson (upper body) are both out long term with injuries.

SCOUTING THE DUCKS

Through 24 contests this campaign, the Ducks hold a 6-12-6 mark, including a 1-6-3 in its last 10 outings. Max Comtois (nine goals, six assists), Rickard Rakell (three goals, 10 assists) and Cam Fowler (two goals, 10 assists) have led the way offensively for the club. Anaheim's penalty kill ranks 10th in the league at 81.8 percent, while its man-advantage unit sits in 30th place, converting on 10.5 percent of its opportunities.
It is Anaheim's third back-to-back set of the season. In the second game of such sets, the club owns a 1-1-0 record, averaging 1.00 goal per game and allowing 2.50 notches per contest.

(OPPOSING) PLAYER TO WATCH: RICKARD RAKELL

Rickard Rakell is in his seventh full season with the Ducks, collecting 296 points (132 goals, 164 assists) in 471 games. Since making his NHL debut in 2012-13, the forward has recorded the third-most points in an Anaheim sweater during that span and since the start of the 2016-17 campaign, Rakell leads the club in goals (103), while ranking second in points (218) and power-play points (53).
This season, the Sundbyberg, Sweden, native has registered 76 shots on net, the most on the squad and is tied for the team lead with one game-winning goal. When facing the Avs, Rakell has tallied one goal and two assists in three contests.

NUMBERS GAME

3

Valeri Nichushkin registered the third multi-goal game of his career and first since Jan. 3, 2016. His overtime tally was also his third game-winner this year, tying Nazem Kadri and Gabriel Landeskog for the most on the squad.

10

The Avalanche has yet to let up a power-play goal when facing the Ducks this season, going a perfect 10-for-10 on the penalty kill against the club. Overall, Colorado owns the best man-down unit in the league, killing 89.2 percent of its penalties.

52.8

The Avs 52.8 faceoff win percentage ranks fifth in the NHL. The club has won the faceoff battle in 15-of-21 contests this year.

NOTEBOOK

The Avs are now 3-1-0 in the first game of back-to-backs this season. In the second contest of such sets, Colorado owns a 2-0-1 mark. This weekend's matchups mark the clubs fourth of eight consecutive-game series this year… The Avalanche overcame a two-goal deficit to win for the first time since Oct. 18, 2019… Brandon Saad recorded his fifth multi-point game of the season with one goal and two assists, equaling his career high for the ninth time… Nichushkin matched a career best with seven shots on goal on Friday (Feb. 27, 2016).