Colorado Opens Road Trip At Jets

Following its 6-1 win against the New York Rangers on Friday, the Colorado Avalanche (20-14-8) battle the Winnipeg Jets (26-13-2) at Bell MTS Place on Tuesday. It is the second of five meetings between the Central Division rivals this season.
Colorado holds a 19-17-6 all-time record against the Jets, which includes a 7-11-3 mark as the visiting team.

The contest is also the first of a back-to-back set for the Avalanche as the team will take on the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Wednesday. Colorado is 3-2-1 in the first game in back-to-backs this year.

Last Time Out

The Avalanche exploded to a 6-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Friday to wrap up a four-game homestand. Mikko Rantanen registered two power-play goals and an assist as linemates Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog each notched their 25th tallies of the season. Alexander Kerfoot and Ryan Graves also found the back of the net in the win while Tyson Barrie generated three assists, making him the highest scoring defenseman in Avalanche/Nordiques franchise history with 278 career points (66 goals, 212 assists). The Avs outshot the Rangers 47-25 as Colorado goaltender Philipp Grubauer made 24 saves.
The Jets beat the Dallas Stars 5-1 on Sunday, scoring five unanswered goals at Bell MTS Place to secure the victory. Following a scoreless first period, Dallas' lone goal came on the power play to open the second. However, beginning a minute later five different Jets skaters scored in the outing. Brian Little (one goal, one assist), Josh Morrissey (one goal, one assist) and Jacob Trouba (two assists) all registered multi-point performances. Winnipeg outshot the Stars 30-27 as goaltender Connor Hellebuyck stopped 26-of-27 shots.

Last Time They Met

Despite outshooting Winnipeg 30-24, the Avalanche fell 5-2 to the Jets on Nov. 9 at Bell MTS Place. The Jets were led by a five-point game from Blake Wheeler who was one of five different goal scorers for Winnipeg while Erik Johnson and Tyson Jost tallied for the Avs. Colorado outblocked Winnipeg 15-10 as goalie Semyon Varlamov made 19 saves.

What To Watch

Goals Galore
With six goals in Friday's outing, the Avalanche has now found the back of the net six or more times in eight games this season, the third most in the NHL. With 144 markers in 42 games, the club stands sixth in the league for total scoring. Colorado is also second in the NHL for goals scored in the third period (61).
Power Up
The Avalanche converted on three power-play opportunities on Friday to bring its overall man-advantage success rate to 26.8 percent, the fifth best in the NHL. The club's 42 power-play goals this season are also the second most in the league. While on the road, Colorado has found success with the extra skater 30.3 percent of the time, the third best in the league, and has scored 23 man-advantage tallies away from Pepsi Center, tied for the most in the NHL with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Players To Watch

Colorado: Defenseman Ryan Graves
Ryan Graves tallied the sixth and final goal for Colorado on Friday, marking his first-ever NHL goal and point. Graves has played in five outings with the Avalanche this season and has generated a plus-three rating along with his marker. He started the 2018-19 campaign with the Colorado Eagles of the American Hockey League where he produced eight points (two goals, six assists) in 26 games.
Winnipeg: Right Wing Blake Wheeler
With an assist in Sunday's outing, Blake Wheeler has recorded 51 points this season (six goals, 45 assists) and paces the Jets in points and is third in the NHL for assists. During the previous matchup against the Avalanche, Wheeler factored on all five goals for the Jets, the only time he has registered a five-point night in his NHL career.

The Details

Tuesday's contest between the Avalanche and Jets is slated for 6 p.m. MT. The game can be watched live locally on Altitude or streamed on select devices with the AltitudeNOW app (in market) and is also tonight's NHL.tv Free Game (out of market). The radio broadcast can be heard on Altitude Sports Radio AM 950 in the Denver area or online at ColoradoAvalanche.com.