Colorado Wraps Up Homestand Versus Minnesota

The Colorado Avalanche concludes its season-long, nine-game homestand against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday. It is the final matchup at Ball Arena between the clubs this year and the second of a two-game set.
Colorado (18-8-2) took the first meeting of the two-game series on Thursday by a score of 5-1, moving into second place in the West Division. The club's top line combined for four of the team's five goals as Mikko Rantanen (two goals, two assists), Nathan MacKinnon (one goal, two assists) and Gabriel Landeskog (one goal, two assists) all put up multi-point efforts. MacKinnon found the back of the net for a season-long fourth straight game, while Rantanen (four games) and Landeskog (three games) extended their respective point streaks. Netminder Philipp Grubauer denied 19-of-20 shots to earn his fifth straight victory and seventh out of his last eight contests.

The Wild (18-9-1) fell for the first time in six outings and was held to one goal for the fifth time this campaign. Victor Rask tallied the lone goal for Minnesota on the man advantage, with Mats Zuccarello registering an assist to lengthen his point streak to five games. Goaltender Cam Talbot made a regular-season, career-high 50 saves on the night.
Thursday's meeting is the fifth contest of an eight-game season series between the Avalanche and Wild.

Avalanche vs. Minnesota Wild

Ball Arena | Denver, Colo.
| Game Time: | 1:00 p.m. | | --- | --- | | TV: | Altitude, Fox-Sports North (MIN), NHL Network - blackouts apply | | Radio: | Altitude Sports Radio, AM 950/FM 92.5 (KKSE) | | Live Streams: | AltitudeNow.com, Official app (blackouts apply to all) | | Online Audio: | Listen Live Here | | Follow: | @Avalanche, Official app, Gamecenter |

COLORADO-MINNESOTA CONNECTIONS

Erik Johnson is from Bloomington, Minnesota, and played one season at the University of Minnesota (2006-07) ... Wild defenseman Ian Cole spent the last two-plus seasons with Colorado… Minnesota goaltender Andrew Hammond spent part of the 2017-18 campaign with the Avalanche… Wild assistant coaches Darby Hendrickson (2003-2004) and Brett McLean (2005-2007) played for the Avs.

HISTORY

The Avalanche boasts an all-time 53-44-14 record against the Wild, including a 6-3-1 mark in the last 10 times the clubs have met. Saturday's meeting is the sixth contest of eight games between the squads this campaign. Colorado travels to St. Paul to conclude the season series versus Minnesota on April 5-7.
Nathan MacKinnon (12 goals, 21 assists) and Gabriel Landeskog (16 goals, 17 assists) are tied for the third most points (33) versus the Wild in franchise history. Mikko Rantanen's 26 points (nine goals, 17 assists) ranks sixth all time and are third on the Avs current roster. MacKinnon has recorded multi-point games in three out of his four contests against Minnesota this year, while Landeskog has collected at least a point in three of five matchups.

ROSTER REPORT

J.T. Compher was medically cleared on Thursday but was given an extra day to get his conditioning back and is expected to dress for Saturday's matchup. Goalkeeper Philipp Grubauer is likely to start in his 24th game of the year. The Avalanche reassigned Hunter Miska and recalled Adam Werner from the American Hockey League's Colorado Eagles on Friday.

INJURY UPDATE

Defenseman Conor Timmins is out with an upper-body ailment, while Pavel Francouz (lower body) and Erik Johnson (upper body) are both out long term with injuries.

SCOUTING THE WILD

Through 28 games, forwards Kirill Kaprizov (10 goals, 15 assists), Jordan Greenway (five goals, 15 assists) and Mats Zuccarello (five goals, 15 assists) have led the way offensively for the club, while defenseman Jonas Brodin (five goals, nine assists) leads the team on the back end. Zach Parise ranks second in all-time scoring in a Wild sweater against the Avs, compiling 17 tallies and 20 helpers in 38 meetings. His six power-play goals are the most of any Minnesota skater against Colorado and his 11 man-advantage points slot in at third (tied) in franchise history.
Minnesota owns an 18-9-1 record on the season and is in third place in the West Division (37 points), one point behind the Avalanche (38). When visiting Colorado, the Wild hold a 25-25-6 franchise mark, with a 4-6-0 record in the last 10 outings at Ball Arena.

(OPPOSING) PLAYER TO WATCH: KAAPO KAHKONEN

Rookie netminder Kaapo Kahkonen has been a rock in between the pipes for the Wild this year, going 12-4-0 through his first 16 appearances, and has won nine consecutive contests. Kahkonen leads all rookies in save percentage (.927), goals-against average (2.05) and is second in victories. Over his nine-game winning streak, the keeper has yet to let in more than three markers and has recorded two shutout. His two clean sheets this campaign is tied for the most by a rookie and matches the third most shutouts in the NHL.
In two meetings with the Avs, Kahkonen holds a 1-1-0 record with a .892 save percentage and 3.50 goals-against average.

NUMBERS GAME

7

With two assists on Thursday, Nathan MacKinnon passed Dale Hunter (323) for the seventh most helpers in franchise history with 324 career assists. The forward's 19 helpers this season rank first on the Avalanche.

55+25

Colorado's 55 shots on goal in Thursday's contest ranks second in franchise history for shots in a game and is the most by any team in the league this season. Its 25 shots in the first period equals the third most in a single frame in franchise history.

.679

Halfway through the 2020-21 campaign, the Avs are 18-8-2 and their .679 points percentage is the third highest at the season's midway point since relocating to Denver.

NOTEBOOK

Colorado is 6-1-1 on its current nine-game homestand and owns an 11-4-1 record at home overall. In its last 10 matchups when hosting the Wild, the club sports a 6-4-0 mark… The Avalanche has won a season-high five straight games and is 9-2-1 in its last 12 ... The Avs, who will play a back-to-back in Arizona next, are in a stretch that finds them playing 15-of-17 at home… Philipp Grubauer's 1.82 goals-against average is first among netminders who have appeared in at least five games, while his 17 wins are one shy of his career-best and rank second in the league… Mikko Rantanen has tallied eight goals and eight assists in the Avs' 10 games this month, which is tied for the most goals in the league in March and his 16 points are the fourth-most … The Avalanche has given away the puck just 158 times this campaign, the fourth fewest in the league… Colorado is a perfect 13-0-0 when going into the third period with the lead, one of six teams that is still undefeated when leading after the second frame.