Avalanche Concludes Road Trip at Dallas

Wrapping up a two-game tour of the Central Division, the Colorado Avalanche (32-29-12) faces the Dallas Stars (38-29-6) at American Airlines Center on Thursday. It is the fourth and final meeting between the clubs this season.
The Avalanche holds a 45-33-17 record against Dallas (since 1995-96), which includes a 19-21-7 mark on the road. In three contests this season, Colorado is 2-1-0 versus the Stars.

Following the outing, the Avs will return to Denver to open a home-and-home set against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday.

Last Time Out

Tyson Barrie extended his point streak to three games as the Avalanche beat the Minnesota Wild 3-1 at Xcel Energy Center on Tuesday. Ian Cole and Carl Soderberg registered assists as Barrie found the back of the net midway through the first period. Zach Parise tallied on a power play to tie the game early in the middle frame, but Tyson Jost answered with a breakaway goal that stood as the game winner. Cole recorded his second point of the night as he sent the puck into an empty net with less than two minutes to go in the final stanza. Earning his second win in two games, netmidner Philipp Grubauer made 36 saves in net.
The Stars won their most recent matchup 4-2 over the Florida Panthers on Tuesday. Alexander Radulov scored twice and added an assist in the win while Jamie Benn (one goal, two assists) and Tyler Seguin (four assists) also put up multiple points in the outing. John Klingberg also lit the lamp for Dallas as the team outshot Florida 36-22. Goaltender Ben Bishop stopped 20-of-22 shots in net, earning his sixth consecutive win.

Last Time They Met

Erik Johnson skated in his 700th game as the Avs fell 4-0 to the Stars at American Airlines Center on March 7. Radulov netted a hat trick and Benn racked up a goal and an assist. Semyon Varlamov made 26 saves in net and Philipp Grubauer stopped all three shots he faced as he was between the pipes for 4:59 while Varlamov dealt with an equipment issue.

What To Watch

Road Rules
The Avalanche is sixth in the league for goals scored on the road (122) and owns a 16-15-6 record as the away team this year. In addition, the Avs have notched 30 tallies on the man-advantage as the visiting club, the fourth most in the league. Its 24.2 percent success rate on the power play ranks fifth best in the NHL. Mikko Rantanen (46 points) and Nathan MacKinnon (44 points) rank fifth and sixth (tied) in the league, respectively, for points scored in an opponent's arena while J.T. Compher and Carl Soderberg are tied for second in the NHL with three short-handed tallies on away ice.
Milestone Watch
After lighting the lamp during Tuesday's game, Barrie is one marker shy of tying Sandis Ozolinsh's Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques record for most goals by a defenseman (72). In addition, Barrie, who set the record for points by a franchise defenseman earlier this season, is one point away from having generated 300 total points during his career. MacKinnon is also close to a milestone as he has recorded 322 shots during this campaign, 10 fewer than the second-most by a Colorado player (Joe Sakic; 332; 2000-01). Matt Calvert is also one assist away from matching his career high (15; 2013-14, 2017-18).

Players To Watch

Colorado: Defenseman Ian Cole
Cole recorded his second multi-point game of the season on Tuesday, notching his second tally and 12th assist of the campaign. The defenseman averages 20:01 of ice time a night and ranks fourth in the NHL with 158 blocked shots through 62 games. In 16 career contests against Dallas, Cole has produced four points (one goal, three assists) and has a plus-5 rating.
Dallas: Right Wing Alexander Radulov
Radulov has racked up five points in the past four games including his three-point performance on Tuesday. The forward is second on the Stars in scoring, having registered 60 points this season (24 goals, 36 assists). Radulov has put up 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) in 17 career outings versus the Avalanche.

The Details

Thurday's contest between the Avalanche and Stars is slated for 6:30 p.m. MT. The game can be watched live locally on Altitude or streamed on select devices with the Altitude Now app (in market) or NHL.tv (out of market). The radio broadcast can be heard on Altitude Sports Radio AM 950 in the Denver area or online at ColoradoAvalanche.com.