Avalanche Weekly Update - Dec. 23
Avalanche visits Golden Knights before NHL's Holiday Break
by Colorado Avalanche @Avalanche / ColoradoAvalanche.com
Avalanche Notes
HIGH-SCORING ATTACK: The Avalanche ranks second in the NHL in goals scored (127), goals-per-game (3.53) and goal differential (+27), trailing only the Washington Capitals in all three categories (131 goals / 3.55 goals-per-game / +30).
ROAD, SWEET ROAD: Colorado is 12-6-1 on the road, tied with Carolina for the third-most away wins. The Avs are 5-1-0 in their last six road contests and 7-2-0 in their last nine.
IN WITH THE NEW: Offseason additions Joonas Donskoi (13 goals), Andre Burakovsky (13) and Nazem Kadri (11) all rank among the Avalanche's top-four goal scorers, combining for 37 (or 29 percent) of the club's 127 total markers. All three forwards rank among the Avalanche's top-six point producers as well, as they've picked up 74 points (37g/37a) between them in 36 games.
Upcoming Games
Monday, Dec. 23 at Vegas Golden Knights
T-Mobile Arena, 8 p.m. MT, TV: Altitude, Radio: 950 AM
Colorado plays its last game before the NHL's Holiday Break in Vegas, its second of three contests against the Golden Knights. The Avs won the first matchup, 6-1, in Vegas on Oct. 25. The teams will close out the season series on March 15 in Denver.
Friday, Dec. 27 vs. Minnesota Wild
Pepsi Center, 6 p.m. MT, TV: NBCSN, Radio: 92.5 FM
The Avalanche hosts Central Division-rival the Minnesota Wild on Friday. It's the second and final home contest of the five-game season series, as the remaining two outings will take place in St. Paul. Friday's game begins a stretch of four straight games against Central Division opponents for the Avalanche.
Saturday, Dec. 28 at Dallas Stars
American Airlines Center, 7 p.m. MT, TV: Alt. 2, Radio: 950 AM
The Avs head to Dallas for their third meeting with the Stars on Saturday night. It's the second half of a back-to-back set for Colorado, its seventh such set of the season. The Avalanche is 3-3-0 in the second half of consecutive-night sets in 2019-20.
MacKinnon Named All-Star Captain
Nathan MacKinnon was named the Central Division's captain for the 2020 NHL All-Star Game, the league announced on Saturday. MacKinnon will make his fourth straight appearance at the mid-season classic when the 2020 Honda NHL All-Star Game is held on Jan. 25 in St. Louis. MacKinnon is the first Avalanche player to be named All-Star captain twice (Joe Sakic wore the 'C' once) and the first Avalanche player to be selected to four straight All-Star Games since Peter Forsberg was selected to six straight from 1996-2001.
Player Spotlight: Gabriel Landeskog
Gabriel Landeskog scored his 48th career power-play goal on Thursday night against Carolina, passing Paul Stastny (47) for sole possession of 10th place in franchise history and fifth place in Avalanche history. He is expected to play in his 600th career game Monday night against Vegas, becoming the 10th player in franchise history and fifth in Avalanche history to reach 600 career games. The second overall pick in the 2011 NHL Draft, Landeskog will become the second player from his draft class to reach 600 games, joining Philadelphia's Sean Couturier (614).