Avalanche and Flames Clash in Game 4 on Wednesday

The Colorado Avalanche looks to take a 3-1 series lead in Game 4 of its first-round Stanley Cup Playoff series against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night at Pepsi Center.
The Avalanche/Nordiques franchise is 12-7 all-time in best-of-seven playoff series when taking a 2-1 series lead and 11-5 since moving to Denver.

Recapping Game 3

The Avalanche jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the opening period and never looked back, defeating the Flames 6-2 in Monday night's Game 3 in Denver. Nathan MacKinnon paced the Avs with three points (two goals, one assist) for his second career multi-goal postseason outing and Cale Makar scored his first NHL goal in his league debut. Colorado outshot the Flames 56-29, its most shots in a playoff game since Game 4 of the 1996 Stanley Cup Final (June 10, 1996).

What to Watch

Power Up
After going 0-for-8 on the power play through the first two games of the series, the Avalanche scored twice with the man advantage on Monday. It marked the first time Colorado has scored two power-play goals in a postseason game since May 1, 2008 vs. Detroit in the Conference Semifinals. Nathan MacKinnon potted both of the Avs' man-advantage tallies, becoming the seventh player (eight times) in Avalanche history (since 1995-96) to score two power-play goals in a playoff game and the first since Andrew Brunette did it in Game 3 of the 2008 Conference Semifinals against Detroit (April 29, 2008).
Matt Nieto on the PK
The Avalanche has notched two short-handed goals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, tied for the most of any team in the postseason (Vegas), and Matt Nieto has buried each of them. Nieto is the first player in Avalanche history (since 1995-96) to register two short-handed tallies in a single playoff series and the first NHL player to score a shorty in back-to-back playoff games since Philadelphia's Max Talbot did it in Games 2 and 3 of the 2012 Conference Quarterfinals vs. Pittsburgh.

Player to Watch

Colorado: Defenseman Cale Makar
The Avs' newest addition made history on Monday when he scored his first NHL goal in his league debut in the postseason. Makar became the seventh player in NHL history--and the first-ever defenseman--to play his first NHL game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and score a goal. The tally came on his first shot in the game.
Calgary: Defenseman Mark Giordano
The Flames' captain leads the team and ranks third among all skaters in the playoffs in time on ice, averaging 26:56 per game through the first three games of the opening round. He tallied an assist in Game 1 and has three points (one goal/two assists) in 11 career postseason contests.

The Details

Wednesday night's Game 4 between the Avalanche and Flames is slated for 8 p.m. MT. The game can be watched locally on Altitude and will be televised nationally in the United States on NBCSN and in Canada on CBC and TVA Sports. The radio broadcast can be heard on Altitude Sports Radio 92.5 FM in the Denver area or online at ColoradoAvalanche.com.
The Avalanche will once again hold a tailgate event outside of the west entrance of Pepsi Center before and during the game. The tailgate begins three hours before puck drop and includes a live band, DJ, food trucks, t-shirt giveaways, appearances by alumni and more.
The Colorado Avalanche's Danielle Bernstein contributed this story