Avalanche Weekly Update - Dec. 27

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ON THE KILL: After holding Arizona scoreless on five power-play opportunities Saturday, the Avs have now killed 24 consecutive penalties, the club's longest run since extinguishing 25 in a row from Feb. 24 to March 12, 2016. The Avs' penalty kill ranks seventh in the league (83.0%) and is the NHL's second-best at home (92.6%).
HATS OFF: The Avs have scored three hat tricks this year, their most in a single season since 2007-08 (also three). Only the New York Islanders (four) have produced more hat tricks in 2017-18.

Upcoming Games

Wednesday, December 27 vs. Arizona Coyotes

Pepsi Center, 7 p.m. MT, TV: Altitude 2, Radio: 92.5 The Wolf
Colorado opens a season-long six-game homestand on Wednesday night against the visiting Arizona Coyotes. It's the second matchup in less than a week between the two teams, who played their first of three contests this season on Saturday night at Gila River Arena. The Avs scored four goals in the second period of that game and won 6-2.

Friday, December 29 vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

Pepsi Center, 7 p.m. MT, TV: Altitude, Radio: 950 AM
The Avs' homestand continues against the Toronto Maple Leafs, who make their only trip of the 2017-18 campaign to Pepsi Center. Colorado is 16-13-3 in 32 all-time matchups against the Maple Leafs, going 7-6-0 at home in that span. The teams split the season series in 2016-17 with each club winning on the road. They will meet again on Jan. 22 when the Avalanche visits Toronto.

Sunday, December 31 vs. New York Islanders

Pepsi Center, 6 p.m. MT, TV: Altitude, Radio: 950 AM
The Avalanche closes out the calendar year against the New York Islanders on Sunday. This is the fifth consecutive season that the Avs have hosted a New Year's Eve game and the sixth time overall, with Colorado posting a 3-2-1 record. Overall, Colorado is 7-5-2 in 14 New Year's Eve contests. Sunday's contest will also wrap up the two-game season series between the Avs and Islanders, who won the first matchup 6-4 on Nov. 5.

Player Spotlight: Patrik Nemeth

Nemeth recorded a career-high 11 blocked shots against the Arizona Coyotes on Dec. 23, the second-most ever by an Avalanche player in a single game (since the stat has been tracked). Nemeth has registered eight points (1g, 7a) in 21 outings this season, notching his first career NHL tally on Nov. 2 against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Quotable

"I think those guys did a real good job coming together and executing and scoring a couple big goals on that, which kind of set the tone for the rest of the game for us. Got us the lead that we needed so we could continue to play."
-Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar following the team's 6-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday

More Links

• Standings

• Player Statistics

• Practice Schedule via @AvsPR