Avs Open Two-Game Set at Home vs. Kings

The Colorado Avalanche hosts the Los Angeles Kings on Friday in the first contest of a two-game set at Ball Arena.
The Avs earned their fourth straight victory on Wednesday with a 4-3 win at the St. Louis Blues, improving to 30-9-4 on the season and 12-5-2 on the road. Goaltender Devan Dubnyk got his first start in between the pipes in an Avalanche sweater and subsequently collected his first victory for the club, stopping 31-of-34 shots. Liam O'Brien registered his first career multi-point game with two assists, while Mikko Rantanen (one goal, one assist) and J.T Compher (one goal, one assist) each put together two-point efforts as well. Nathan MacKinnon finished with an assist to extend his point streak to a league-long 11 games and assist streak to six matchups. Brandon Saad notched a goal for the second consecutive game and tallied his first game-winning marker of the campaign.

Los Angeles (16-20-6) fell 6-2 to the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday as Trevor Moore recorded his first two-goal outing of his career and Adrian Kempe added the lone assists on both of the tallies--his fifth multi-point contest of the year. Netminder Calvin Petersen made 21 saves after coming in as relief in the first period for Jonathan Quick, who let in three goals on eight shots
Friday's game is the fifth meeting of the eight-game regular-season series and the third of four matchups at Ball Arena between the clubs.

Avalanche vs. Los Angeles Kings

Ball Arena | Denver, Colo.
| Game Time: | 7 p.m. MT | | --- | --- | | TV: | Altitude 2, KCOP-13 (LAK) | | Radio: | Altitude Sports Radio, FM 92.5 (KKSE) | | Live Streams: | AltitudeNow.com, ESPN+, Official app (blackouts apply to all) | | Online Audio: | Listen Live Here | | Follow: | @Avalanche, Official app, Gamecenter |

COLORADO-LOS ANGELES CONNECTIONS

Avalanche assistant coach Ray Bennett spent seven years as an assistant coach for the Kings (1999-2006) … Kings general manager Rob Blake played parts of five seasons with Colorado (2001-2006), winning a Stanley Cup with the Avs in 2001 … Los Angeles center Trevor Moore played at the University of Denver from 2013-2016 … Kings left wing Brendan Lemieux was born in Denver and is the son of former Avs forward Claude Lemieux … L.A. defenseman Christian Wolanin is the son of former Avs D-man Craig Wolanin.

HISTORY

The Avs franchise holds an all-time 60-66-15 record against the Kings, including a 5-4-1 mark in their last 10 contests at home. Gabriel Landeskog leads the current Avalanche roster with eight goals and 13 assists in 32 career games versus Los Angeles, while Mikko Rantanen (seven goals, nine assists) and Nathan MacKinnon (six goals, 10 assists) are tied for second on the current squad with 16 points.
Colorado sports a 3-1-0 mark when facing the Kings this season, with a 2-0-0 record at Ball Arena. The club swept the last two-game set between the teams on March 12-14 in Denver as the Avalanche earned a 2-0 shutout in the first meeting and a 4-1 victory in the second half of the set. At home versus Los Angeles, the Avs have held a 6-1 edge in goals and own a plus-41 shot differential (87-46) while going 8-for-8 on the penalty kill.

ROSTER REPORT

Colorado had a day off on Thursday, so its lineup will likely be unknown until after morning skate. Carl Soderberg suited up on Wednesday in his first contest since being acquired by the Avalanche and replaced Joonas Donskoi, who was out with an illness, while defenseman Conor Timmins replaced Keaton Middleton on the backend. Netminder Devan Dubnyk could start in his second straight contest and first at home with Colorado.

INJURY UPDATE

Philipp Grubauer was added to the NHL's COVID-19-protocol list on Wednesday and is out for at least two weeks. Bowen Byram is also on the NHL's COVID-19-protocol list and is dealing with an upper-body injury as well. Logan O'Connor is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury, and Matt Calvert (upper body) is out week-to-week. Patrik Nemeth is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Pavel Francouz is out for the remainder of the year with a lower-body injury and Erik Johnson (upper body) is out for at least the rest of the regular season and could return in the playoffs.

SCOUTING THE KINGS

The Kings' special-team units have been a focal point for their success thus far, as the club's penalty kill (84.4 percent) is tied for third in the NHL and its power play (21.4 percent) is the 13th best. Los Angeles has tallied a goal on the man advantage in 23 contests this season, owning an 11-7-5 mark in such games. In matchups that the club doesn't register a power-play marker, the Kings are 5-13-1.
Overall, Los Angeles holds a 16-20-6 record and slots in seventh in the West Division. Recently, the squad has struggled to find its groove, going 3-7-0 over its last 10 games and 3-6-1 in its previous 10 contests on the road.

(OPPOSING) PLAYER TO WATCH: ALEX IAFALLO

Alex Iafallo has been one of the Kings' top offensive manufacturers all season, tallying 11 goals and 15 assists in 41 contests. The forward ranks third on the club in goals, assists and even-strength markers (eight). Iafallo is also tied for the third-most points on Los Angeles (26) and has registered a point in three of his last four matchups.
The Eden, New York, native is in his fourth NHL season--all with the Kings--and has compiled 127 points (52 goals, 75 assists) in 268 games. When squaring off against the Avs, Iafallo has notched one goal and four assists in 11 meetings, with two of his helpers coming this season in three matchups with Colorado, tied for the second-most points versus the team.
Iafallo signed a four-year contract extension with L.A. on Monday.

NUMBERS GAME

11

Devan Dubnyk became the 11th goaltender in Avalanche team history to win his debut with the club, and his 31 saves versus the Blues were the third most by an Avs goalie that won his debut, behind Adam Werner (40 on Nov. 12, 2019) and Craig Anderson (38 on Oct. 1, 2009). Dubnyk is the 32nd goaltender to get a start in an Avalanche jersey in team history.

13

Colorado looks to extend its 13-game home point streak (12-0-1) on Friday. It is the Avs' longest point streak at home this season and the fourth-longest in franchise history, one game short of the third-best stretch that came from Nov. 19, 1983-Jan. 21, 1984 as the Quebec Nordiques. The longest point streak on home ice in franchise history is 17 contests, which was done by the Avalanche from Jan. 20-April 6, 2003.

30

The Avalanche became the fastest team in franchise history to reach the 30-win mark, accomplishing the feat in just 43 games. Colorado surpassed the previous records of the 2013-14 and 2000-01 clubs, which each reached 30 victories in 47 contests. As well, the team is the first squad to reach 30 victories in the NHL this season.

NOTEBOOK

Head coach Jared Bednar has coached in 359 career games, tied with Bob Hartley for the most games coached in Avalanche history (since 1995-96). Bednar owns a 175-145-39 career record (.542) and ranks second in wins behind only Hartley since the team moved to Denver… The Avs are 21-3-3 in their last 27 contests dating back to Feb. 26 and 9-1-0 over their last 10 outings... Colorado is 7-1-0 in the month of April so far, the most wins and points (14) of any team this month. It's the franchise's most wins in the month of April in its history, surpassing the six victories by the 1994-95 Quebec Nordiques… In the month of April, the club has scored 27 goals while allowing 21 markers against for a plus-6 differential… At home, the Avalanche boasts an 18-4-2 mark and is tied for the most victories on home ice in the NHL… Mikko Rantanen's 26 goals this season are the second most in the NHL, trailing only the Toronto Maple Leafs' Auston Matthews (32). His 52 points are tied for seventh best in the league as well… The Avs sport a plus-53 goal differential, the highest in the NHL and 11 more than the second-place Vegas Golden Knights (plus-42)… Colorado owns the third-best penalty-kill unit (87.2) at home and ranks ninth on the man advantage (25.3) at Ball Arena… Conor Timmins registered his first career NHL point with an assist on Wednesday.