Avalanche Weekly Update - March 10
Colorado returns to Pepsi Center for a four-game homestand
by Colorado Avalanche @Avalanche / ColoradoAvalanche.com
Avalanche Notes
MACK REACHES 90: Nathan MacKinnon tallied two assists on Friday night in Vancouver to reach the 90-point mark for the third straight season and become the first player in Avalanche history (since 1995-96) to post three consecutive seasons of 90+ points. In franchise history, only Michel Goulet (6), Peter Stastny (6) and Joe Sakic (5) had more consecutive 90-point campaigns.
FIRST ON THE BOARD: Colorado has scored the first goal of the game 43 times this year, most in the NHL. The Avalanche's 30 wins when scoring first (30-6-7) are tied with Tampa Bay for the league lead.
COLE'S CAREER BEST: Ian Cole notched an assist and now has 22 this season, setting a new career high that eclipses his previous best of 21 during the 2016-17 season with Pittsburgh. His 26 points (4g/22a) in 2019-20 matches his previous career best set during the same campaign.
Upcoming Games
Wednesday, March 11 vs. New York Rangers
Pepsi Center, 8 p.m. MT, TV: Altitude, Radio: 92.5 FM
The Avalanche begins a four-game homestand against the New York Rangers on Wednesday night. It's the second and final meeting between the clubs, who last clashed on Jan. 7 at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers won that meeting 5-3.
Friday, March 13 vs. Vancouver Canucks
Pepsi Center, 7 p.m. MT, TV: Altitude 2, Radio: 92.5 FM
The Avs and Canucks meet for the second time in the span of a week, which is also the third and final matchup of the season between the clubs. Colorado is 1-1-0 in the season series against the Canucks, who will be making their lone trip to Denver in 2019-20.
Sunday, March 15 vs. Vegas Golden Knights
Pepsi Center, 1 p.m. MT, TV: Altitude, Radio: 92.5 FM
Colorado hosts the Vegas Golden Knights to close out a three-game season series between the clubs. The Avs are 2-0-0 against Vegas so far this season, outscoring the Golden Knights by a combined score of 13-4 in the first two contests.
Player Spotlight: Gabriel Landeskog
Landeskog was named the NHL's Second Star of the Week after leading the league with nine points (3g/6a) in four games last week. He recorded his 20th goal of the season against the Vancouver Canucks on Friday, the seventh time in his career that he has reached the mark. Landeskog's seven seasons with 20 or more goals ranks third in Avalanche history behind Joe Sakic and Milan Hejduk, who each did it 11 times. The Avalanche captain registered points in eight straight games from Feb. 22 through March 8, tallying 13 points (5g/8a) over that span, tied for the second-longest point streak of his career.
Quotable
"It was weird, first time in my career playing against an old team, I have never had that experience before. I am sure some extra nervousness I'd say maybe, and a lot of familiar faces on the ice against us tonight so it was a new experience for me. It was fun to see, there was still a lot of signs from the fans so that was good to see, and it was a special night." - Avalanche forward Joonas Donskoi on playing against his former team, the San Jose Sharks, at SAP Center for the first time