Avs Wrap Up California Trip at Ducks

The Colorado Avalanche plays the final contest of a two-game road trip on Sunday afternoon against the Anaheim Ducks.
The Avalanche and Ducks are meeting for the second time this season and the second and final time at Honda Center. The clubs will finish off their season series on March 15 in Denver. The Avs won 4-3 in the first matchup on Nov. 18 after Mikko Rantanen scored with two seconds left in overtime.
Colorado holds a 40-30-17 record against Anaheim since 1995-96 and sports a 18-14-12 mark at Honda Center in that time.

Last Time Out

The Avalanche fought back from an early deficit but fell 4-3 to the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Friday night, snapping a three-game road winning streak and six-game road point streak (3-0-3). Gabriel Landeskog had assists on each of Colorado's three markers, while Mikko Rantanen, Nikita Zadorov and Samuel Girard were the goal scorers for the Avs. Ian Cole, Alexander Kerfoot and Nathan MacKinnon also picked up helpers. The Avalanche went 1-for-2 on the power play, and Semyon Varlamov finished with 36 saves.
Anaheim enters Sunday's contest coming off a 3-0 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday. John Gibson returned after missing the past nine games and made 31 saves for the Ducks, who have lost five consecutive contests. Corey Perry played his 971st NHL game, moving into a tie for most in Anaheim history with Ryan Getzlaf.

Last Time They Met

Mikko Rantanen
scored a power-play goal with less than two seconds left in overtime to give the Avalanche a 4-3 win over the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center on Nov. 18. Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon each had a goal and two assists, while Gabriel Landeskog had a goal and an assist. Sven Andrighetto also tallied while goaltender Philipp Grubauer made 30 saves for Colorado, which finished 2-for-2 on the power play. Brandon Montour, Ryan Getzlaf and Ondrej Kase scored for the Ducks, who received a 38-save performance from goalie Ryan Miller.

What To Watch

Power Players
The Avalanche finished 1-for-2 on the power play against the Sharks on Friday night and has scored a goal with the man advantage in five of its last six outings, going 6-for-22 (27.3 percent) over that span. Colorado ranks seventh overall in power-play percentage (22.6 percent) this season, and its man-advantage unit is the league's fifth-best group on the road, going 29-for-115 (25.2 percent).
Offensive Output
The Avalanche has outscored its opposition 28-14 over the last seven games (29-14, including the one goal awarded for winning the shootout on Wednesday), and the club has outscored its opponents 14-5 in the third period in those seven contests. The Avs now have 86 markers this season in the final frame of regulation, ranking second in the league behind the Calgary Flames (93).

Players To Watch

Colorado: Right Wing Mikko Rantanen
Rantanen scored his career-high 13th power-play goal of the season on Friday night, surpassing his previous career best of 12 set during the 2017-18 campaign. He's scored a goal in three-straight games, matching his career-long goal scoring streak (fourth time, last accomplished Jan. 2-6, 2018).
Anaheim: Defenseman Cam Fowler
Fowler became the Ducks' all-time leader in assists among defensemen (205) on Feb. 17 and enters Sunday's contest one goal away from surpassing Francois Beauchemin for sole possession of second place on the franchise's all-time goals list by a blueliner (56). Fowler has three goals and nine assists this season.

The Details

Sunday's game between the Avalanche and Sharks begins at 2 p.m. MT. The game can be watched locally on Altitude or streamed on select devices with the AltitudeNOW app (in market) or NHL.tv (out of market). The radio broadcast can be heard on Altitude Sports Radio FM 92.5 in the Denver area or online at ColoradoAvalanche.com.
The Avalanche will be holding a free watch party for fans this afternoon at Blake Street Tavern.
ColoradoAvalanche.com's Danielle Bernstein contributed this story