Colorado Avalanche (39-24-2) @ Minnesota Wild (36-24-4)
6 p.m. MT | Xcel Energy Center | Watch: Altitude, Altitude+ | Listen: Altitude Sports Radio (92.5 FM)
After a perfect 6-0-0 homestand, the Avalanche travel north to conclude their season series with the Minnesota Wild in a Central Division matchup.
Latest Result (COL): CHI 0, COL 3
Latest Result (MIN): PIT 3, MIN 1
Milestone Monday
Nathan MacKinnon recorded the 1,000th point of his career and Scott Wedgewood posted a 20-save shutout to help the Avalanche defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-0 at Ball Arena on Monday. MacKinnon became the 100th player in league history and the third player in franchise history to reach the milestone. It appeared that MacKinnon hit the milestone after Martin Necas scored at 7:31 of the first period, but the goal was taken off the board after a challenge for offside. At 31 seconds of the third period, MacKinnon officially reached the milestone when he picked up the secondary assist on Artturi Lehkonen’s 27th goal of the season via a deflection on Devon Toews’ right-point wrist shot. Necas scored his 22nd goal of the season to double the Avs’ lead at 3:27 of the third period via a shot from the slot set up by MacKinnon. Joel Kiviranta gave the Avalanche a 3-0 lead 19:06 of the third period with his 14th goal of the season via an empty-net tally.
Avs at the Peak
Nate the Great
MacKinnon leads the NHL in points (102) and assists (75).
All Hail Cale
Cale Makar leads NHL defensemen in points (75), goals (24) and assists (51). Among all NHL skaters, he’s tied for seventh in assists and ninth in points.
A Marty Party
Necas is tied for ninth in the NHL in assists (50).
History
In 128 previous regular-season games against the Wild, the Avalanche are 65-48-10. In their previous three meetings this season, the Avalanche won 6-1 in St. Paul on January 9th, lost 3-1 in Denver on January 20th and won 5-2 in Denver on February 28th. In those meetings, the Wild were without their leading goal-scorer Kirill Kaprizov and will likely be without him on Tuesday.
Defeat at Home
The Minnesota Wild lost 3-1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins at Xcel Energy Center on Sunday. Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin opened the scoring at 15:22 of the second period with a power-play goal. The Penguins doubled their lead with a Sidney Crosby goal at 9:21 of the third period. Ryan Hartman put the Wild on the board with a power-play goal at 14:54 of the third period. Crosby scored his second goal of the game to give the Penguins a 3-1 lead with an empty-net tally at 18:47 of the third period.
Going Wild
MacKinnon has posted 63 points (23g/40a) in 50 regular-season games against the Wild in addition to 10 points (2g/8a) in seven playoff games.
In 24 games against the Wild, all in the regular season, Makar has posted 22 points (5g/17a).
Toews has registered 14 points (2g/12a) in 20 games, all in the regular season, against the Wild.
St. Paul’s Scorers
Matt Boldy leads the Wild in points (54) and assists (33) while being tied for second in goals (21).
Marco Rossi is second on the Wild in assists (31) while being tied for second in points (52) and goals (21).
Mats Zuccarello is fourth on the Wild in points (40) and assists (26) while being tied for fourth in goals (14).
A Numbers Game
72
Necas’ 72 points (22g/50a) this season are a new career-high, surpassing his 71 points (28g/43a) in 2022-23.
82.4%
Since January 1st, the Avalanche’s 82.4% penalty kill is tied for the third best in the league during that span.
37.5%
Since February 1st, the Avalanche’s 37.5% power play is the second best in the NHL during that span.
Quote That Left a Mark
"It was good to see him get it tonight, especially after the first one was called off. I think it's big. I think he'll downplay it as he always does. But I think when it's all said and done for him, he'll remember these milestones and appreciate it more than he does now because he's so focused by the moment. It's not a big deal to him now but when it's all done and he gets a little older and starts looking back on his career and other people look back on his career, they're gonna be big moments."
-- Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar on Nathan MacKinnon reaching 1,000 points
