Game Preview: Avalanche at Rangers

COLORADO AVALANCHE AT NEW YORK RANGERS
6:00 PM MT | MADISON SQUARE GARDENWATCH: ESPN+LISTEN: 92.5FM/950 AM
The Colorado Avalanche remain on the road for the beginning of a three-game northeast road trip as they take on the New York Rangers on Tuesday. Coverage begins at 6:00 P.M. MT on ESPN at Madison Square Garden.

Valeri Nichushkin extended his season-opening point streak to six games last time out against the Golden Knights, as he made a highlight end-to-end play to score the eventual game-winning goal.
Nichushkin remains at the top of the league scoring, currently with the second-most points in the league (11) and tied for second in goals with six only behind Tampa's Steven Stamkos (7).
The Avs league-leading power play did not let up, scoring on both man-advantage opportunities and bringing their season total to 9-of-17. Nathan MacKinnon and Evan Rodrigues both netted one-timers off the left side to help the Avs convert.

HISTORY

The Avs hold a 44-40-8 all-time record against the Rangers, with a 24-14-2 mark since the 1995-96 season. Colorado is 12-7-2 on the road in The Big Apple since 1995.
Last season, the Avalanche captured four points from the Rangers in the two games played, outscoring New York 11-5.
Tuesday's matchup marks the first of a two-game series against New York this season. The Rangers travel to Denver on Dec. 9th for a 7:00 P.M. MT puck drop.
AVALANCHE VS RANGERS
AVALANCHE ARTICLES
Rooting For Women's Hockey Hits Home for Alex Newhook
Landeskog Sidelined After Undergoing Knee Surgery
Colorado Avalanche 2022 Reverse Retro Jersey
Francouz Adds Special Touch to Goalie Mask
GAME EXTRAS
Avalanche 360
Avalanche Tickets

SCOUTING THE RANGERS

The NY Rangers close out their four-game home stretch as they take on the Avalanche Tuesday. The Rangers started out the season 3-1, but have lost the last two games, a 3-2 overtime defeat to the San Jose Sharks followed by a 5-1 loss against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Artemi Panarin is red-hot to start the season, leading the league in scoring with 12 points (4G, 8A).
Defenseman Adam Fox is tied with Cale Makar (and Calen Addison, Rasmus Andersson) for the second-most points among blue-liners with six (1G, 5A).

LINEUP UPDATES

Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog remains out after undergoing surgery and is slated to return in 12+ weeks. Veteran center Darren Helm is still sidelined after undergoing offseason surgery but has been skating.
Devon Toews is day-to-day after missing his second-consecutive game on Saturday with a lower-body injury.
Rangers forward Filip Chytil exited early last game against the Blue Jackets and is expected to be out for at least a week with an upper-body injury.

DOING THE MOST

Nathan MacKinnon leads all current Avalanche players with 16 points (7G, 9A) in 15 games played against the Rangers.
Last season, Mikko Rantanen scored three goals in the two games versus New York, while Logan O'Connor and Valeri Nichushkin netted two goals apiece.

BEHIND ENEMY LINES

New York goaltender Igor Shesterkin is 1-0 against Colorado, posting a .906 save percentage and a 3.03 goals-against average.

NUMBERS GAME

660
Erik Johnson skated in his 660th game for the Avalanche to pass Cody McLeod (659) and take sole possession of eighth place on the franchise's all-time games played list.
6
Valeri Nichuskin extended his point streak to six games and has recorded 11 points (6G, 5A) during the span, the second highest total in the league behind Artemi Panarin (12P, 4G, 8A).
20
The Avs blue line has been producing to start the season, tallying 20 points (4G, 16A), tied for the most in the league (Pittsburgh).

QUOTES THAT LEFT A MARK

"He's found his scoring touch," - Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar on Nichushkin's offensive production