Utah Mammoth (18-17-3) @ Colorado Avalanche (26-2-7)
7 p.m. MT | Ball Arena | Watch: Altitude, Altitude+ | Listen: Altitude Sports Radio (92.5 FM)
Winners of its last five games, the Avalanche hosts the Utah Mammoth for a Central Division matchup on Tuesday. This is the third of four regular-season meetings between the teams, with the Avs posting a 1-0-1 record in the previous two matchups. The regular-season series finale will take place on February 25th in Salt Lake City.
Latest Result (COL): COL 5, MIN 1
Latest Result (UTA): WPG 3, UTA 4 (OT)
Two Points in the Twin Cities
Cale Makar and Brock Nelson both posted a goal and two assists as the Avalanche defeated the Minnesota Wild 5-1 at Grand Casino Arena on Sunday. Nathan MacKinnon scored twice, Martin Necas added a tally while Gabriel Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin each posted two assists. In net for Colorado, Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 28 of the 29 shots he faced and picked up his 11th win of the season. Necas opened the scoring at 18:28 of the first period with his 16th goal of the season via a shot from the slot set up by Makar’s feed. The Avs doubled its lead on the power play at 13:37 of the second period when MacKinnon scored his 29th goal and 60th point of the season via a one-timer from the slot assisted by Nelson. With the goal, MacKinnon tied a franchise record for the fewest games to reach 60 points (35 games), matching Peter Stastny in the 1981-82 and 1987-88 seasons and Marian Stastny in the 1982-83 campaign. The Avs took a 3-0 lead on the power play at 18:33 of the second period when Makar scored his 11th goal of the season via a shot from the point. Ryan Hartman put the Wild on the board with a shot from the right doorstep at 5:15 of the third period. Nelson gave the Avs a 4-1 lead at 15:52 of the third period with his 14th goal of the season via a right-circle one-timer set up by Samuel Girard’s feed. At 17:35 of the third period, MacKinnon became the first player in the NHL to reach 30 tallies this season with his second goal of the game via an empty-netter.
Leading the Way
Nate the Great
MacKinnon leads the NHL in goals (30) while ranking second in points (61) and tied for seventh in assists (31).
All Hail Cale
Makar leads NHL defensemen in points (43) and assists (32) while being third in goals by blueliners (11). Among all NHL skaters, he’s tied for fifth in assists.
Marty Party
Necas is sixth in the NHL in points (47) and tied for seventh in assists (31).
Series History
In five previous regular-season games against the Mammoth, the Avalanche has a record of 3-1-1.
A Weekend Win
The Mammoth defeated the Winnipeg Jets 4-3 in overtime on Sunday at Delta Center. In the first period, Utah’s Lawson Crouse opened the scoring at 5:20 before JJ Peterka doubled the Mammoth’s lead at 9:31. In the middle frame, Alexander Kerfoot gave the Mammoth a 3-0 lead before Winnipeg’s Kyle Connor scored a power-play goal to make it 3-1 at 11:18. In the final frame of regulation, Connor scored his second goal of the contest at 15:23 and Morgan Barron tied the game at 15:48. In overtime, Clayton Keller scored the game-winning goal for Utah at 13 seconds.
Making Plays Against the Mammoth
MacKinnon has posted six points (2g/4a) in five games against the Mammoth.
In three contests against Utah, Necas has recorded three points (2g/1a).
Nelson has registered three points (1g/2a) in four games against the Mammoth.
Scoring in Salt Lake City
Dylan Guenther leads the Mammoth in goals (16) while ranking third in points (30) and fifth in assists (14).
Mikhail Sergachev leads the Mammoth in assists (21) and is fifth on the team in points (25).
Keller and Nick Schmaltz are both tied for the team lead in points (32), tied for second in assists (20) and tied for fourth in goals (12).
A Numbers Game
4.63
Colorado’s 4.63 goals per game at home this season are the most in the NHL.
27
The Avalanche’s 27 five-on-five goals in December are the most in the NHL.
23
Colorado has posted an NHL-leading 23 first-period goals at home.
Quote That Left a Mark
“Yeah it felt good. Obviously, [we were] moving it (the puck) around [quickly]. And it felt like things were clicking and we were getting shots on net. Felt like the biggest thing for us tonight was just recoveries, finding ways to recover pucks, we weren’t going all the way back and then breaking it out. So, that’s huge when you can do that as a power play. It just keeps our guys out there and keeps our momentum. So, kudos to those forwards, especially getting pucks down low and winning those extra battles that we need to.”
-- Cale Makar on the power play against Minnesota
