Game Preview: Avalanche at Stars

COLORADO AVALANCHE (10-5-1) AT DALLAS STARS (11-5-2)
6:30 PM MT | AMERICAN AIRLINES CENTER WATCH:ALTITUDELISTEN: 92.5FM/950 AM
The Colorado Avalanche enter Monday night's contest with a record of 10-5-1, while the Dallas Stars are 11-5-2. Both teams have matching two game win streaks. The puck will drop at 6:30 P.M. MT inside American Airlines Center.

LAST TIME OUT

The Avalanche blanked the Washington Capitals on Saturday night 4-0 as they saw old friend and current Caps goaltender Darcy Kuemper. Four different Avs scored - Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon, Andrew Cogliano and Artturi Lehkonen - with MacKinnon and Lehkonen each recording two-point evenings. Colorado goaltender Alexandar Georgiev stopped all 32 shots that came his way in his first shutout win with the Avalanche.
The Stars defeated the New York Islanders 5-2 on Saturday night in an effort where the Stars pulled away from their opponent in the third period, with Dallas tallying three goals in the final frame. Five different Stars found the back of the net - Radek Faksa, Mason Marchment, Jamie Benn, Jason Robertson and Jani Hakanpaa. Veteran Jamie Benn paced the team in points with three and netminder Jake Oettinger stopped 27 of 29 shot attempts.

HISTORY

Including when they were the Minnesota North Stars, in 148 games the Avs have recorded a modest 70-55-23 record against Dallas.
AVALANCHE VS STARS
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GAME EXTRAS
Avalanche 360
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The division foes have faced off five times in the postseason, with the Stars holding the 3-2 series edge. Their most recent series was in round two of the 2020 playoffs, with the Stars winning a thrilling seven game series.

CONNECTIONS

Right winger Valeri Nichushkin was originally selected 10th overall in the first round of the 2013 NHL Draft by the Dallas Stars. In four seasons with Dallas Nichushkin appeared in 223 games, recording 23 goals and 51 assists.
Center Andrew Cogliano played parts of three seasons with the Stars, tallying 11 goals and 20 assists in 154 outings.

SCOUTING THE STARS

Left winger Jason Robertson paces the team in points with 27 (12G/15A), while center Roope Hintz is second with 22 (8G/14A). Entering Saturday night's game, Hintz (6-9-15 in 10 GP) and Robertson (9-10-19 in 10 GP) were both riding 10 game point streaks and were the first Stars players with a double-digit run since Patrick Sharp from Dec. 19, 2015 to Jan. 9, 2016 (6-9-15 in 12 GP). Hintz's streak was snapped, but Robertson's third period goal on Saturday set a new career-high point streak for him (11 games) and fifth all time in Stars/North Stars history.
Hintz and Robertson also became the third pair of Stars/North Stars teammates with simultaneous 10-game point streaks, joining Brian Bellows and Neal Broten (10 games played from 1/23-2/13, 1986) as well as Steve Payne and Bobby Smith (10 games played from Feb. 10-28, 1980).
Robertson's third period goal on Saturday set a new career-high point streak for him (11 games) and fifth all time in Stars/North Stars history.
Since November 10 veterans Jamie Benn (4G/5A in five games played) and Joe Pavelski (3G/6A in five games played) are tied for the most points (nine) in that time span.

LINEUP UPDATES

Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog is sidelined for at least 12 weeks after undergoing surgery. Veteran center Darren Helm is still sidelined after undergoing offseason surgery but has been skating. There is no timetable for his return. Forward Valeri Nichushkin is out at least a month after undergoing surgery. Defensemen Bowen Byram and Samuel Girard are out with lower-body injuries. Center Shane Bowers made his NHL debut on November 10, but suffered an upper-body injury in less than two minutes of ice time. Kurtis MacDermid suffered a lower body injury last time out against Carolina and is out four-to-six weeks.
Forward Denis Gurianov has been out since November 8 with an upper body injury. Backup goalie Scott Wedgewood was the team's backup goalie Saturday night days after he was stretchered off the ice in a scary scene in the team's win over the Florida Panthers this past Thursday. Forward Nick Caamano remains out as he continues to recover from back surgery he underwent in September.

DOING THE MOST

Center Nathan MacKinnon is the team's leaders in career points against the Stars with 32 (11G/21A) in 33 career appearances, while center Gabriel Landeskog paces the team in career goals against Dallas with 16 in 34 games played. Landeskog is also second in career points against Dallas with 31 in 34 outings.

BEHIND ENEMY LINES

Netminder Jake Oettinger is 2-0 all time against the Avs, sporting a .975 SV% and 1.07 GAA. Stars captain Jamie Benn leads the team in career points against Colorado with 42 (13G/29A) in 50 contests.

NUMBERS GAME

#1
The Avalanche converted one of their three power play opportunities Saturday night, converting 19 of 52 attempts on the season, best in the NHL.
#2
The Avs are tied for second with the Winnipeg Jets in the league in team save percentage (.929).
#3
Goalie Alexandar Georgiev picked up his eighth win of the season on Saturday, which is tied for third in the league in save percentage (.930) with Edmonton's Stuart Skinner.
5
The Avalanche have scored on the man advantage in five-consecutive games, the team's longest stretch so far this season, converting six-of-18 opportunities during that span.
6
Lehkonen's two-point night extended his point streak to six games, which is a new career best.

QUOTES THAT LEFT A MARK

"The other night [Francouz] steals us a game. Tonight, the next guy goes in and plays a great game and gets a shutout," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. "I think we're spoiled in that regard right now. Both guys are kind of playing real well." - Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar on the team's tandem in net
"Your top guys have to be your top guys and sort of drive the bus, and our guys have been consistently doing that from the start of the season." -Bednar on the play of MacKinnon and Makar