Avalanche Continues Road Trip At Ottawa Senators

The Avs looked to have regained their form in Buffalo on Tuesday, beating the Sabres 6-1 in their second game back from the All-Star Break and bye week. Andre Burakovsky led the scoring effort with four points (one goal, three assists), while Valeri Nichushkin turned in a three-point night (one goal, two assists).
Nazem Kadri and Nikita Zadorov each had multi-point outings with a goal and an assist each. Seven more Colorado players had at least one point, including Cale Makar, whose assist set a new franchise record for points by a rookie defensemen (38). Goaltender Philipp Grubauer saved 23-of-24 shots he faced in the victory.
The Senators are coming off a 3-2 shootout loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday. Artem Anisimov tallied in the third period to tie the contest and force extra time, and Drake Batherson also scored for Ottawa.

Avalanche at Ottawa Senators

Canadian Tire Centre | Ottawa, Ontario
| Game Time: | 5:30 p.m. MT | | --- | --- | | TV: | Altitude (blackouts apply), TSN 5, RDS 2 (OTT) | | Radio: | Altitude Sports Radio, FM 92.5/AM 950 | | Live Streams: | NHL.tv, AltitudeNow.com, Official app (blackouts apply to all) | | Online Audio: | Listen Live Here | | Follow: | @Avalanche, Official app, Gamecenter |

COLORADO-OTTAWA CONNECTIONS

Samuel Girard and Vladislav Kamenev were part of the three-team trade with Nashville and Ottawa in November 2017… Ian Cole was acquired by Ottawa in a trade in February 2018 but was dealt to Columbus three days later… Avs assistant general manager Craig Billington played for the Senators for two seasons (1993-1995)… Ottawa goalie Craig Anderson spent parts of two seasons with the Avs from 2009-2011 ... Senators forward Mikkel Boedker played for Colorado at the end of 2015-16… Cody Goloubef played 33 games with the Avs in the 2016-17 campaign… Ottawa head coach D.J. Smith played part of the 2002-03 season with the Avalanche.

HISTORY

The Avalanche and Senators split their two games last season, with Colorado winning 6-3 in the first contest at home on Oct. 26, 2018 before losing 5-2 on Jan. 16, 2019 in Ottawa. Mikko Rantanen recorded six points (one goal, five assists) in the season series, while Nathan MacKinnon had five points (two goals, three assists) and Gabriel Landeskog registered three (one goal, two assists).
Overall, Colorado owns a 16-14-3 mark against the Senators since moving to Denver 1995. In their first meeting on Dec. 9, 1995, Peter Forsberg notched five points (two goals, three assists) in the Avs' 7-3 win. The teams' limited shared history includes a seven-game win streak for Colorado from Oct. 19, 2006 to March 14, 2014.

ROSTER REPORT

Mark Barberio was reassigned on Wednesday to the American Hockey League's Colorado Eagles on a conditioning assignment… Calle Rosen was recalled to the Avalanche in a corresponding move.

INJURY REPORT

Colin Wilson is the only Avalanche player currently out with an injury. Wilson (lower body) is rehabbing after undergoing two surgeries earlier this season.

SCOUTING THE SENATORS

The Senators (18-24-11) are in seventh place in the Atlantic Division and have lost four of their last five games since returning from the break (1-1-3), three of which came after regulation. In that span, Ottawa has both scored and surrendered 14 goals, and its power play has been very productive.
Seven of the Senators' 14 goals during this run have come on the man advantage, with a 41.2-percent conversion rate. They've allowed five goals on the penalty kill for a 75-percent success rate.

(OPPOSING) PLAYER TO WATCH: Connor Brown

Connor Brown is tied for second on the team with 33 points (10 goals, 23 assists) and tied with Tyler Ennis for the most points since the start of the 2020 calendar year with nine (four goals, five assists).
Brown, who has one goal in six career games against the Avalanche, was acquired by the Senators in a trade on July 1 after spending his first 253 NHL contests with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

NUMBERS GAME

6

Colorado has seen six different players (Andre Burakovsky, Joonas Donskoi, Samuel Girard, Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen) turn in a four-point game this season, more than any other team in the NHL. It's happened nine times overall for the squad--Nathan MacKinnon owns four such performances--which is tied for the second-most in the NHL (Edmonton Oilers, 11).

9

After Tuesday's 6-1 win, the Avalanche has now scored six or more goals nine times this season, tied for the most in the NHL (Tampa Bay Lightning).

39

With his four-point game (one goal, three assists) on Tuesday, Andre Burakovsky set a new career high with 39 points (17 goals, 22 assists) this season, beating his previous mark of 38 in 31 fewer contests (79 games played in 2015-16 with Washington).

NOTEBOOK

This will be the first of two games this season between Colorado and Ottawa; the Senators travel to Denver on Tuesday… Colorado is 13-5-3 against Eastern Conference opponents this year... Samuel Girard scored his second goal of the season to bring his point total to 27, matching his career high set in 2018-19… With a career-high plus-4 rating on Tuesday, Ryan Graves extended his NHL-leading margin to plus-36… Andre Burakovsky (five games), Mikko Rantanen (four games), Nikita Zadorov (four games) and Nazem Kadri (three games) are on point streaks… Burakovsky has recorded multiple points in four straight games, a career long.