Avalanche's Second-Round Matchup with Knights Continues Wednesday

The Colorado Avalanche looks to extend its series lead when hosting the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 2 of its second-round series at Ball Arena on Wednesday. The Avs earned a 7-1 win in Game 1 of the best-of-seven set on Sunday.
Cale Makar registered a postseason career-high four points (one goal, three assists), while Colorado's top line of Nathan MacKinnon (two goals, one assist), Gabriel Landeskog (two goals, one assist) and Mikko Rantanen (one goal, one assist) combined for eight points. William Karlsson scored the lone goal for the Golden Knights, as Max Pacioretty and Jonathan Marchessault each picked up an assist on the tally.

The Avalanche outshot Vegas 37-25 in the contest, while going 2-for-5 on the power play and killing off each of its two man-down situations.
Following Wednesday's outing, the series will shift to Vegas as Games 3 and 4 will be played at T-Mobile Arena on Friday and Sunday.

Avalanche vs. Vegas Golden Knights

Ball Arena | Denver, Colo.
| Game Time: | 8:00 p.m. MT | | --- | --- | | TV: | NBCSN, Sportsnet, CBC, TVA Sports | | Radio: | Altitude Sports Radio, FM 92.5 (KKSE) | | Live Streams: | NHL.tv, Official app, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app (blackouts apply) | | Online Audio: | Listen Live Here | | Follow: | @Avalanche, Official app, Gamecenter |

COLORADO-VEGAS CONNECTIONS

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare played two seasons with Vegas after the team selected him in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft… Golden Knights defenseman Nick Holden played three seasons with Colorado from 2013-2016.

HISTORY

The Avalanche now owns an all-time 1-0-1 record against the Golden Knights in the playoffs, as this is the first time the clubs have met in a best-of-seven series in each of the franchise's histories. The teams met in one postseason contest in the 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers, a 4-3 win in overtime by the Knights.
Colorado received offensive production from 12 different players in Game 1, while Philipp Grubauer stopped 24-of-25 shots on the night. The club also posted 17 hits, its third-most hits in game this postseason.
MacKinnon (four goals, five assists) leads the squad in scoring when facing Vegas this year (regular season and playoffs) and has registered at least a point in five of the nine matchups. MacKinnon, Makar and Rantanen all have four points in two career postseason contests versus the Golden Knights.

ROSTER REPORT

The Avalanche participated in a full-team practice on Tuesday and is expected to use the same lineup as it did in Game 1. Rookie forward Sampo Ranta made his NHL debut on Sunday and played alongside Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Alex Newhook on the fourth line.

INJURY UPDATE

• Matt Calvert (upper body): Out long term after requiring surgery and is doubtful to return this year
• Pavel Francouz (lower body): Expected to return fully healthy next season after having surgery earlier this year
• Erik Johnson (upper body): Has been skating on his own, but there isn't timetable for his return yet
• Logan O'Connor (lower body): Could return in the postseason as he is ahead of schedule in his recovery and has been skating with the team's Black Aces (practice squad)

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS

Vegas boasts a 32-23 all-time record in the postseason and a 4-6 mark in its last 10 matchups. This postseason, the Golden Knights own a 2-2 record on the road and have dropped two straight contests after falling in Game 1 to the Avalanche and Game 6 at the Minnesota Wild on May 26. The club will look to get its power play rolling as its man-up unit has failed to convert on the man advantage in nine opportunities when away from home in the playoffs. Vegas holds a 11.8 power-play percentage (2-for-17) overall, ranking 15th in the league.
Through eight games in the postseason, the Golden Knights have been led offensively by Mattias Janmark, who has three goals and three assists in eight games, while Mark Stone (four goals, one assist), Alex Tuch (three goals, two assists), William Karlsson (two goals, three assists) and Chandler Stephenson (five assists) are all tied for second in scoring. The squad will likely be without its leading scorer after Janmark took a hit from Ryan Graves in the first period of Sunday's matchup and didn't return. To go along with Janmark's absence, forward Ryan Reaves will miss the next two meetings as he is suspended for two games for roughing and unsportsmanlike conduct against Graves later in that contest.

(AVS) PLAYER TO WATCH: Brandon Saad

Brandon Saad has found his touch when it comes to finding the back of the net, as the forward has scored in four consecutive playoff games for a career-best postseason goal streak. His four straight contests with a goal is the longest playoff goal streak by an Avalanche player since Gabriel Landeskog scored in four straight games from April 14-20, 2018 and tied for the fourth longest streak in franchise playoff history. His four markers are also tied with Landeskog for the second-most on the club through the first five postseason games.
All time, Saad has compiled 22 goals and 24 assists in 86 playoff matchups and has won two Stanley Cups while a member of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2012-13 and 2014-15. The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, native's 86 postseason contests are the most by a player on the Avalanche roster.

(OPPOSING) PLAYER TO WATCH: Marc-Andre Fleury

Marc-Andre Fleury, who is a 2020-21 Vezina Trophy finalist for the best goaltender in the regular season, has owned most of the work load in the crease throughout the postseason despite not playing on Sunday. The netminder started in all seven games for the Golden Knights in their Round 1 series versus the Minnesota Wild and posted a 4-3 mark, 1.71 goals-against average, .931 save percentage and a shutout. He ranks third in the league in goals-against average and eighth in save percentage while being just one of six goalies to earn a clean sheet in this postseason.
The 36-year-old is no stranger to the Stanley Cup Playoffs as well, as he has appeared in 153 postseason contests (151 starts)--the fourth-most all time by a goalie--and sports an 85-66 mark, 2.54 goals-against average and .912 save percentage. His 85 postseason victories rank sixth in NHL history, three behind a share of fourth-place overall, and his 16 shutouts are tied for the third-most. The veteran is also a three-time Stanley Cup winner with the Pittsburgh Penguins (2008-09, 2015-16 and 2016-17).
When facing the Avs this year, Fleury produced a 4-3-0 mark, 2.14 goals-against average, .932 save percentage and earned two clean sheets--the only two times the Avs were shutout in the campaign.

NUMBERS GAME

5

The Avs are 5-0 to begin the postseason for the first time in franchise history, while their five-game winning streak is tied for the longest streak since the club move to Denver (two times previously in 1996, 1999). With a victory on Wednesday, the club would set a new team record for the longest win streak and will match the longest win streak in franchise history, which was set by the 1987 Quebec Nordiques.

27x5.40

Colorado has tallied 27 goals through the first five contests of the postseason for a 5.4 goals per game average. The club's 27 markers are the second-most in the league, while its 5.4 average ranks first, with the second-place Tampa Bay Lightning finding the back of the net 3.5 times per contest (28 total).

66+28

Nathan MacKinnon's 66 postseason points are the fifth-most in franchise history, as the forward jumped over Michel Goulet (64 points) and Sandis Ozolinsh (65) with his three-point outing (two goals, one assists) in Game 1. MacKinnon also ranks fifth on the Avalanche's all-time playoff goals list with 28, as he surpassed Chris Drury (26) with two tallies on Sunday.

NOTEBOOK

Colorado/Quebec sports an all-time 20-10 mark when winning the first game of a playoff series and a 1-0 mark this postseason after defeating the Blues in the first contest of Round 1 on the way to winning the series in four games… The Avalanche is undefeated on home ice in the playoffs so far (3-0), and going back to the regular season the club has won 12 straight at Ball Arena and is 19-0-1 in their last 20 contest in its barn. The Avs are one of three teams (Boston and Winnipeg are the others) to have won all of their home postseason contests… Mikko Rantanen has recorded a point in all five games of the 2021 playoffs, collecting nine (two goals, seven assists) in that span. Going back to the 2020 postseason, he has recorded a point in 15 consecutive contests, totaling 25 points (eight goals, 17 assists) over that stretch. It's the longest point streak across multiple postseasons in franchise history… The Avs have gone 8-for-17 on the man advantage in the postseason, converting on 47.1 percent of its opportunities, the best power-play percentage in the league. The squad has scored on the man advantage in four of its five playoff contests and in two straight matchups… Colorado's blueline has combined for 18 points (three goals, 15 assists) in the playoffs, ranking second in the NHL. On the other hand, the Avs' forwards have totaled 53 points (24 goals, 29 assists) in the postseason, the third-most in the league.