Avs Host Golden Knights in Saturday Matinee

In a clash of the top two teams in the West Division, the Colorado Avalanche squares off against the Vegas Golden Knights in a matinee matchup on Saturday. It is the second contest of a two-game set between the clubs and the final time the teams will meet at Ball Arena this season.
After giving up an early first period goal, the Avs scored five straight to earn a dominant 5-1 victory over the Golden Knights on Thursday to move into a tie for first place in the West Division with 45 points (21-8-3). Goaltender Philipp Grubauer earned his eighth straight victory with an 18 save performance and has a .971 save percentage and 0.65 goals-against average while allowing one goal or less in the eight matchups over the stretch.

J.T. Compher notched his first game-winning goal of the campaign and added an assist, the 15th multi-point effort in his career. Cale Makar (one goal, one assist), Gabriel Landeskog (one goal, one assist), Joonas Donskoi (one goal) and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare all found the back of the net as well.
For Vegas, Max Pacioretty tallied the lone goal for the club while Mark Stone registered his team-leading 27th helper on the year. Alec Martinez also found the scoresheet with an assist, while netminder Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 27-of-32 shots.
Saturday's contest is the Avs' fourth day game of the season and the third at Ball Arena. Colorado is scheduled for one more matinee this year on April 24th at the St. Louis Blues.

Avalanche vs. Vegas Golden Knights

Ball Arena | Denver, Colo.
| Game Time: | 1:00 p.m. | | --- | --- | | TV: | Altitude, AT&T Sportnet (VGK), NHL Network -- blackouts apply | | 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-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

Following Thursday's victory, Colorado improved to 3-2-0 against Vegas on the season and 2-1-0 at home, while boasting an 8-5-0 mark all time. The Avs held the Golden Knights to a season-low 19 shots on net and allowed just one goal--only the sixth time Vegas has been limited to one goal or less this campaign. Overall this year, the Avalanche has produced 2.20 goals per game when facing the Knights, while giving up 1.80 tallies against.
Nathan MacKinnon has 12 points (three goals, nine assists) in 13 games versus Vegas, which is most in franchise history. J.T. Compher's seven points (two goals, five assists) in 12 matchups rank second all-time. Philipp Grubauer owns a 5-3-0 record against the Golden Knights in an Avalanche sweater, leading the franchise in wins, save percentage (.936) and goals-against average (1.89).
The squads will meet two more times to finish off the eight-game season series as the Avs visit T-Mobile Arena for a two-game set on April 26-28.

ROSTER REPORT

Bowen Byram and J.T. Compher returned to the lineup on Thursday as the two replaced Dan Renouf and Matt Calvert. Byram and Compher are expected to play in Saturday's game. Philipp Grubauer is likely to start in net for the second straight meeting.

INJURY UPDATE

Defenseman Jacob MacDonald left Thursday's game in the third period after blocking a shot and is questionable for the outing. Matt Calvert missed Thursday's contest and is out week-to-week. Pavel Francouz (lower body) and Erik Johnson (upper body) are both out long term with injuries.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS

Vegas and Colorado sit in a tie for the top spot in the West Division, with the Knights owning a 22-8-1 record and 9-6-0 mark away from home. Through 31 contests, forwards Mark Stone (12 goals, 27 assists) and Max Pacioretty (17 goals, 14 assists) have led the way offensively for the club. As a team, the third period has been its strong suit, tallying 43 markers in the final frame, the most in the NHL this year. When entering the third with a lead, the squad is a perfect 14-0-0, one of just three teams to be undefeated when heading into the last 20 minutes ahead.
In Golden Knights history, Jonathan Marchessault is the all-time leading scorer against the Avalanche, compiling five goals and five assists in eight games. Marc-Andre Fleury is the franchise leader in wins versus Colorado, holding a 4-5-1 record with two shutouts.

(OPPOSING) PLAYER TO WATCH: WILLIAM KARLSSON

William Karlsson is in his fourth season with Vegas and has collected 90 goals and 113 assists in 258 outings with the club. The forward leads the franchise in games played (258) and goals, while ranking second in assists and points (203). This campaign, Karlsson is tied for the fourth-most points on the team with 23 (eight goals, 15 assists) and ranks third in power-play points, recording one goal and five assists on the man advantage.
The Marsta, Sweden, native holds the second-most points against the Avs in a Golden Knight sweater and is the franchise leader in assists, tallying two goals and seven helpers in 13 meetings. This season, Karlsson has four assists in five matchups with Colorado, which is the most on the team.

NUMBERS GAME

8&5

Gabriel Landeskog's 489 career points pass Alex Tanguay (488) for sole possession of the eight-most points in franchise history and fifth most in the Avalanche record book. The captain is on a season-best seven-game point streak and has tallied 11 goals and 18 assists this season.

20

Philipp Grubauer earned his 20th victory of the season on Thursday in just 27 appearances, becoming the first goaltender in franchise history to reach 20 wins in fewer than 30 games. The keeper owns the second-most wins this campaign and the lowest goals-against average in the league (1.69) for goalies that have played in 10 or more contests.

35.2+25.0

Colorado leads the NHL in both shots for per game and shots against per contest, averaging 35.2 pucks on goal this season while allowing just 25.0 shots on its own net.

NOTEBOOK

The Avs own a 13-4-1 record at home and are on seven-game winning streak at Ball Arena. The club's 13 victories on home ice are tied for second in the NHL… Colorado has allowed the second-fewest goals in the league (tied), giving up just 71 markers in 32 contests… Philipp Grubauer is one win away from his 100th career NHL victory… Joonas Donskoi's 11 goals this year rank tied for second on the squad with Gabriel Landeskog. The forward has notched four goals over his last five contests… Logan O'Connor collected his first career assist on Thursday and finished with a career-best plus-3 rating… When trailing after the first period, the Avalanche holds a 3-4-1 record.