Boston Bruins (3-2-0) @ Colorado Avalanche (4-0-1)
7 p.m. MT | Ball Arena | Watch: Altitude, KTVD-20, Altitude+ | Listen: Altitude Sports Radio (92.5 FM)
After a 2-0-0 road trip, the Avalanche return home to face the Boston Bruins on Saturday for Girls Hockey Night, presented by IMA. This is the first of two meetings between the teams, as they’ll meet again in a week on October 25th in Boston.
Latest Result (COL): COL 4, CBJ 1
Latest Result (BOS): BOS 5, VGK 6
Road Victory
Valeri Nichushkin scored twice and Scott Wedgewood stopped 22 of the 23 shots he faced to help Avs defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1 at Nationwide Arena on Thursday. Cale Makar scored a goal in his 400th NHL game and Brock Nelson added a tally to help Colorado improve to 4-0-1. Columbus’ Ivan Provorov opened the scoring at 1:36 of the second period with a left-circle one-timer. Makar tied the game with his second goal of the season via a wrist shot from the high slot at 10:34 of the middle frame. Among defensemen in their first 400 NHL games, Makar’s 118 goals are the fifth most in league history. Just 72 seconds later, at 11:46 of the second period, Nelson scored his first goal of the season via a redirection on Brent Burns’ shot from the point to give the Avs a 2-1 lead. Nichushkin doubled the Avs’ lead with his first goal of the season via a redirection on Sam Malinski’s shot from the point at 19:56 of the second period. At 18:07 of the third frame, Nichushkin gave the Avs a 4-1 lead with his second tally of the game and the season via an empty-net goal.
Leading the Way
Nate the Great
Nathan MacKinnon is tied for seventh in the NHL in points (8) and goals (4).
All Hail Cale
Among NHL defensemen, Makar is tied for first in points (7) and tied for second in goals (2) and assists (5). Makar is tied for ninth among all skaters in points and tied for 10th in assists.
Marty Party
Martin Necas is tied for second in the league in points (9) and tied for fourth in assists (6).
Series History
In 44 previous regular-season games against the Bruins, the Avalanche are 26-16-2.
Offensive Showcase in Vegas
The Bruins lost 6-5 to the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday. Boston’s Tanner Jeannot opened the scoring at 2:05 of the first period before Vegas’ Pavel Dorofeyev tied the game 90 seconds later at 3:35. Nikita Zadorov gave the Bruins a 2-1 lead at 16:44 of the first before Cole Reinhardt tied the game less than two minutes later at 18:33. In the second period, Jack Eichel gave Vegas a 3-2 lead at 4:14 and Tomas Hertl made it 4-2 with a power-play goal at 6:35. Boston responded at 8:15 with a power-play goal of their own from David Pastrnak. At 18:24 of the middle frame, William Karlsson gave the Golden Knights a 5-3 lead with a shorthanded goal. In the final frame, Karlsson scored his second goal of the night, this time on the power play, to give the Golden Knights a 6-3 lead at 2:19. The Bruins cut their deficit to one after goals from Mark Kastelic at 4:05 and Michael Eyssimont at 5:12.
Making Their Mark Against Massachusetts’ Team
Makar has posted nine points (2g/7a) in 10 games against the Bruins.
In 21 contests against Boston, MacKinnon has registered 16 points (6g/10a).
Necas has recorded eight points (2g/6a) in 10 regular-season games against the Bruins in addition to five assists in 12 playoff contests.
Scoring in the Spoked B
Pastrnak leads the Bruins in points (6) while being tied for first in goals (2) and assists (4).
Elias Lindholm is tied for first on the team in goals (2), tied for second in points (5) and third in assists (3).
Pavel Zacha is tied for first on the team in assists (4), tied for second in points (5) and tied for seventh in goals (1).
A Numbers Game
.939
Among goalies who have played in at least three games this season, Wedgewood’s .939 save percentage is the second best in the NHL.
1.6
The Avalanche are allowing 1.6 goals per game, which is the second fewest in the NHL.
4
The Avs lead the league with four regulation victories.
Quote That Left a Mark
"It was good to see those guys get on the board. They played hard, did some good things and stuck with it. You knew it was a matter of time before it came and it was a big game from those guys and we needed it."
-- Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar on the Gabriel Landeskog-Brock Nelson-Valeri Nichushkin line
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