Avalanche Hosting Capitals Wednesday

The Colorado Avalanche returns home after a two-game road trip to host the league-leading Washington Capitals at Pepsi Center on Wednesday night. It's the second and final meeting between these two teams, which last squared off when the 2016-17 season was still in its infancy on Oct. 18.
Colorado is 12-14-2 all-time against the Capitals, but is winless in its last five matchups of the series. As the home team, the Avalanche is 7-6-1 and has won two of the last four.

Last Time Out

The Avs are coming off a 4-2 loss to the Calgary Flames on Monday night at Scotiabank Saddledome. Colorado trailed 2-0 after two periods, but Sven Andrighetto scored on the power play to bring the Avs within one just over three minutes into the final stanza. Troy Brouwer scored to bring Calgary's lead back to two, and despite Andrighetto punching in another to get the Avs within striking distance again, Colorado was unable to find the equalizer before Johnny Gaudreau's empty netter sealed the win for the Flames.
T.J. Oshie scored less than two minutes into overtime to lift the Capitals to a 5-4 win over the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night. Washington watched a 4-2 lead slip away late in the third period, as the Wild rallied to tie and force the extra frame. Alex Ovechkin registered a hat trick--with all three goals coming on the power play-and Oshie added two markers, including the game winner. Braden Holtby finished with 26 saves, earning his 40th win and becoming just the third goaltender in NHL history to win 40 or more games in three straight seasons.

Last Time They Met

The Capitals outshot the Avalanche 40-18 and scored once in each period en route to a 3-0 win on Oct. 18 at Verizon Center. Two of Washington's goals came on the power play while the Avs were scoreless on three opportunities with the man advantage. Ovechkin potted the first goal and Oshie added two markers for the Caps.

What to Watch

Andrighetto on a Roll
Andrighetto scored both of Colorado's goals on Monday night, his fourth and fifth markers since being acquired by the Avalanche at the trade deadline on March 1 and the second multi-goal game of his career. He now has five goals and nine points in 12 contests with the Avs and enters Friday's contest on a three-game point streak.
Caps on the Road
Wednesday's match is the second of a five-game road trip for the Capitals, who are also playing the second half of a back-to-back against the Avalanche. While Washington is the best home team in the league with a 31-6-2 record, they're 19-11-6 on the road this season, which ranks ninth in the NHL and fifth in the Eastern Conference.

Player to Watch

Colorado: Defenseman Erik Johnson
Johnson notched two assists in Colorado's game versus the Flames on Monday, his first points since tallying a helper in his return from injury on Feb. 25 against Buffalo. Johnson's 2.3 blocked shots per game leads all Avalanche skaters. He's tallied two goals and six points in 10 career games against Washington.
Washington: Right wing T.J. Oshie
Oshie registered two goals in Washington's win over the Wild on Tuesday, bringing his goal total for the season to a career high 32, which ranks second on the team to Ovechkin's 33. He has 23 points (seven goals, 16 assists) in 26 career games against Colorado and has registered at least a point in five straight games against the Avalanche, including two markers in the first meeting between the two teams this season.

The Details

Wednesday night's tilt between the Avalanche and the Capitals begins at 8 p.m. MT, and tickets are still available. The game can be seen live on Altitude TV, and the radio broadcast is available on Altitude Sports Radio AM950 or online at ColoradoAvalanche.com.