COLORADO AVALANCHE (33-18-4) AT ARIZONA COYOTES (23-26-4)
4:00 PM MDT | BALL ARENA | WATCH: ALTITUDE TV | LISTEN: 92.5 FM
The Avalanche make their way back home following a six-game road trip after having played 11 the last 13 on the road. The Avalanche has won their past four home contests, outscoring opponents 18-6. The Avalanche are tied for first in the NHL with 20 home wins this season. Arizona has lost eight consecutive games (0-7-1) by a combined score of 36-14 coming into tonight’s contest. The Yotes rank seventh in the Central Division with 50 points while the Avalanche have recorded 70 points and sit in third in the Central Division.
Latest Results: February 15, 2024 TBL: 6 COL: 3
February 16, 2024 CAR: 5 ARI: 1
BEATEN IN THE BAY
The Avalanche fell to the Lightning 6-3 on Thursday night at Amalie Arena. They split the season series one game apiece, with both teams winning at home. Colorado got the best of Tampa Bay 4-1 on November 27 at Ball Arena. Nathan MacKinnon tallied four assists in the two games against Tampa Bay.
AVALANCHE vs LIGHTNING 2.18.24.2024 RECAP
Bowen Byram scored his first of two goals on the night on an odd-man rush to open the scoring. Brayden Point tallied his 26th of the season to level the game at one. The Lightning took the lead heading into first intermission when Nikita Kucherov found the back of the net for his first of two goals in the game. Byram found a loose puck in the middle frame to knot the game at two going into the final frame. The Avs took the lead on the power play when Artturi Lehkonen tipped a shot past Andrei Vasilevskiy. The Lightning then scored twice in 4:13 with goals from Steven Stamkos and Kucherov to take a 4-3 lead. Tampa Bay tallied two empty-net goals, one from Anthony Cirelli and the other from Nick Perbix to secure the win.
AVS ACCOMPLISHMENTS
MacKinnon recorded two assists and is tied (Kucherov) for the third-most in the NHL this season with 57.
Mikko Rantanen assisted on Byram’s first tally. He has collected 70 points (29g/41a) this season. Rantanen has registered 70-plus points in three straight seasons and five times in his career. The five 70-point campaigns put him in a tie with Milan Hejduk for the seventh-most in Avalanche/Nordiques history.
Byram has tallied four points (2g/2a) in his last two outings. He also tied his career-high with two goals in a game on Thursday night.
Lehkonen appeared in his 100th game as an member of the Avalanche. He has recorded six points (3g/3a) in his last two games.
Ross Colton had an assist against his former club. Colton accumulated 83 points (47g/36a) in 190 regular-season games with the Lightning from 2020-2023.
HISTORY
The Avalanche/Nordiques own a 76-53-12-10 all-time record against the Coyotes/Jets, with a 41-24-5-5 mark at home. The Avalanche are 13-4-4 in the past 21 matchups with the Coyotes, with an 8-1-1 mark in their previous 10 home games against Arizona. This will be the fourth matchup between the two teams this season, with Colorado posting a 1-0-2 record in the first three games.
CAUGHT IN THE STORM
Arizona dropped a contest to Carolina 5-1 on Friday night at Mullett Arena. Jordan Martinook opened the scoring for Carolina 16 seconds into the game with his ninth tally of the season. The Canes doubled their lead with a goal from Jalen Chatfield. Dylan Guenther responded by firing a snapshot over Pyotr Kochetkov’s blocker to cut the deficit to one at the end of the first period. Carolina extended its lead to 4-1 getting contributions from Seth Jarvis and Teuvo Teravainen (power play). Michael Bunting scored the final goal for the Canes in the third period to seal the win.
STATS TO KNOW
Cale Makar (1g/3a), Rantanen (1g/3a) and MacKinnon (2g/2a) lead the Avs with four points apiece in the season series against Arizona.
The Avs won the team’s only home game of the series 4-1 on December 23. Fredrik Olofsson tallied a goal and an assist with Alexandar Georgiev stopping 24-of-25 shots.
Colorado’s power play has operated at 50% against Arizona this season, including going 2-for-3 in the most recent contest with the Yotes.
COUNTING COYOTES
Clayton Keller leads the Coyotes in goals (21), assists (28) and points (49) this campaign.
Matias Maccelli has recorded 89 (20g/69a) career points, good for the ninth-most points of any skater from the 2019 NHL Draft. He is the only player among the draft class’ top ten scorers who was not picked in the first round.
Sean Durzi is two goals away from a season-high, he has tallied eight with 35 games remaining.
NUMBERS GAME
1.07
Rantanen is averaging 1.07 points per game in his career. He ranks second all-time among Finnish born players, trailing only Jari Kurri (1.12 PPG).
27
Makar leads all NHL blueliners with 27 (5g/22a) power-play points in 2023-24.
2
Rantanen (23:12) and MacKinnon (23:00) rank first and second among all NHL forwards in average time on ice this season.
QUOTE(S) THAT LEFT A MARK
“It’s been a while since we’ve been at home. We are excited to get home but it’s definitely not the road trip you want to start off with after the break. We will learn from it and move on.
- Colorado D Cale Makar on concluding the road trip
