Colorado Avalanche (2-0-1) @ Buffalo Sabres (0-2-0)
10:30 a.m. MT | KeyBank Center | Watch: Altitude, Altitude+ | Listen: Altitude Sports Radio (950 AM)
The Avalanche begin their first multi-game road trip of the season with a Monday matinee against the Buffalo Sabres. This is the first of two meetings between the teams this season, as they’ll face off in Denver on November 13th.
Latest Result (COL): DAL 5, COL 4 (SO)
Latest Result (BUF): BUF 1, BOS 3
Defeated by Dallas
The Avs lost to the Dallas Stars 5-4 in a shootout on Saturday at Ball Arena. Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas each posted a goal and two assists. Meanwhile, Artturi Lehkonen added a tally, and Gavin Brindley scored his first NHL goal. In addition to recording an assist, Brent Burns became the 23rd player and eighth defenseman in league history to play in 1,500 games. Dallas’ Thomas Harley opened the scoring with a one-timer from the slot at 18:51 of the first period.
Necas tied the game with his third goal of the season via a shot from the bottom of the right circle set up by MacKinnon’s feed at 3:54 of the second period. Brindley gave the Avs a 2-1 lead at 10:07 of the middle frame with a shot from the doorstep set up by Victor Olofsson’s centering pass.
The Stars took a 3-2 lead into the second intermission after goals from Nathan Bastian at 15:22 and Jason Robertson at 18:25. Lehkonen tied the game with his second goal of the season at 34 seconds of the third period via a net-front shot set up by MacKinnon’s feed. Wyatt Johnston gave the Stars a 4-3 lead with a breakaway goal at 1:58 of the final frame. MacKinnon scored his second goal of the season to tie the game with a power-play tally via a left-circle one-timer at 10:46 of the third period. Throughout the game, the Avalanche generated several high-danger scoring chances, but Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger made multiple fantastic saves. In the third round of the shootout, Mikko Rantanen scored the winner for Dallas.
Rocky Mountain Scorers
Nate the Great
MacKinnon is tied for second in the NHL in points (6), tied for fifth in assists (4) and tied for 10th in goals (2).
All Hail Cale
Cale Makar is tied for second among NHL defensemen in assists (3).
Marty Party
Necas is tied for second in the NHL in points (6) and tied for third in goals (3).
History
In 43 previous regular-season matchups against the Sabres, the Avalanche are 27-12-4. Last season, the Avs went 2-0-0 against Buffalo, with comeback victories after trailing by four and three goals, respectively.
Defeated in Boston
The Sabres lost to the Boston Bruins 3-1 at TD Garden on Saturday. Boston scored the game’s first two goals courtesy of tallies from Pavel Zacha at 15:48 of the first period and Mark Kastelic at 10:21 of the middle frame. In the third period, Jason Zucker put the Sabres on the board with a goal at 9:46. Sean Kuraly doubled Boston’s lead with an empty-net tally at 19:57 of the third period.
Scoring Against the Sabres
MacKinnon has posted 29 points (11g/18a) in 18 games against the Sabres.
In 15 contests against Buffalo, Gabriel Landeskog has registered 14 points (8g/6a).
Necas has recorded 12 points (5g/7a) in 11 games against the Sabres.
Sabres Stats
Zucker leads the Sabres in goals (1) and is tied for the team lead in points (1).
Mattias Samuelsson leads Buffalo in assists (1) and is tied for first in points (1).
Sabres goaltender Alex Lyon has posted a .919 save percentage this season.
A Numbers Game
55
Necas has posted 55 points (21g/34a) in 59-career games in the month of October.
79
In 74-career contests against Atlantic Division teams, Makar has registered 79 points (23g/56a).
689
Since entering the league in the 2013-14 season, MacKinnon’s 689 even-strength points are the second most in the NHL.
Quote That Left a Mark
“Excitement, right? [A] 1-1 game, to go up 2-1 against Dallas who’s [knocked] these guys out of the playoffs the past two years, so it’s a big game. You could just tell the intensity out there. It was like a playoff game there in the third. I thought we did a great job, and I thought we played a really good game.”
-- Gavin Brindley on how he felt after scoring his first NHL goal
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