COLORADO AVALANCHE (29-13-3) AT BOSTON BRUINS (26-8-9)
5:00 PM MDT | TD GARDEN | WATCH: ALTITUDE TV | LISTEN: 92.5 FM
The Avalanche finish their season-series with the Bruins this Thursday night at TD Garden. Boston has lost three of their past five games, one of which included a loss to the Avalanche on January 8. Colorado has won six of their last eight and are 11-8-3 on the road this season.
Latest Results:
January 16, 2024 COL: 7 OTT: 4
January 15, 2024 BOS: 3 NJD: 0
OVERTHROWING OTTAWA
The Colorado Avalanche won the final game against the Senators this season 7-4 on Tuesday night at Canadian Tire Centre. The Avs swept the season series against the Senators, winning both contests and outscoring them 13-8. The Avs won the previous match 6-4 on December 21. Colorado is 8-1-1 in their past 10 games against the Senators.
AVALANCHE vs OTTAWA SENATORS 1.16.2024 RECAP
Drake Batherson kicked off the scoring in the opening period with a wrist shot from the dot during a power play. Mikko Rantanen leveled the score just 30 seconds later, tapping in a back-door pass from Cale Makar. Ridley Greig regained the lead for Ottawa in the second period. Shortly after, Jason Polin tied it up with his first career goal. Greig sent his second goal past Justus Annunen to regain the lead for the Senators, and Jake Sanderson put the Avalanche in a two-goal deficit with a goal of his own. Sam Malinski found the back of the net, it was overturned due to offside. Rantanen tallied his second goal of the night with a snap shot off the rush. Miles Wood leveled the game at 4-4, and Malinski scored a goal that counted, giving the Avalanche the 5-4 lead. Logan O’Connor added another goal with a toe drag release past Mads Sogaard and Devon Toews sealed the victory with an empty-net goal from the defensive zone.
AVS ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Nathan MacKinnon has recorded 72 points (23g/49a) in 45 games and is on pace for 131 points by the end of the 2023-24 season. This would break Joe Sakic’s Avalanche record of 120 (51g/69a) set in 1995-96.
The centerman has collected a point in nine consecutive contests. Following two assists Tuesday night, he has recorded 16 points (4g/12a) since December 31.
Alexandar Georgiev got the night off Tuesday but still leads the NHL with 24 wins.
The goaltender has accumulated 907 saves this campaign, trailing only Ilya Sorokin who leads the NHL with 1,008 saves.
Cale Makar registered an assist on Rantanen’s first goal, bringing his point total to 52 this season (10g/42a). He is currently tied with Quinn Hughes for the league-lead among defensemen.
Samuel Girard notched his season-high record of three assists on Tuesday night.
HISTORY
The Avalanche and Bruins have faced off in a total of 153 games. Colorado holds an all-time record of 62-75-15-1, with a 31-33-9-1 mark on the road. In their most recent six encounters with the Bruins, the Avalanche have a 3-3-0 record. The latest clash between the two teams this season took place on January 8 at Ball Arena, resulting in a 4-3 victory for the Avs in shootout fashion.
DEFEATING THE DEVILS
The Boston Bruins shut out the New Jersey Devils in their matchup on Monday night (3-0). After a 0-0 game in the first period, Charlie Coyle kicked off the scoring with a backhand shot just 30 seconds into the second period. David Pastrnak and Trent Frederic added to the lead, each putting a puck past Nico Daws. The Devils found themselves in a three-goal deficit. This marked Jeremy Swayman’s third shutout of 2023-24 series.
STATS TO KNOW
Colorado has tallied seven power-play goals in their past nine contests against the Bruins.
Alexandar Georgiev saved every shootout attempt in the Avalanche’s last contest against the Bruins January 8.
Cale Makar has secured four points (1g/3a) in the last five games against the Bruins.
BRUINS BENCHMARKS
In 43 games this season, David Pastrnak has accumulated 61 points (26g/35a), ranking him third in the league for total points. This marks the third time he has achieved 60 points in 43 games of less.
Jeremy Swayman secured the third position in franchise history for the most career shutouts before the age of 26, recording a total of 12. Frank Brimsek holds the top spot in the franchise with 22 shutouts.
The Bruins have 61 points this campaign, the second-most in the NHL behind the Vancouver Canucks (62).
NUMBERS GAME
72
Nathan MacKinnon picked up two assists on Tuesday, recording 72 points (23g/49a) this season and putting him in a tie for the NHL lead alongside Nikita Kucherov.
15
The Avalanche registered their 15th comeback victory of the season Tuesday night, tops in the NHL.
5
Colorado has tallied five unanswered goals in three games this campaign. These instances came facing off against Ottawa (Jan. 16), Toronto (Jan. 13), and Dallas (Nov. 18).
QUOTE(S) THAT LEFT A MARK
“We weren’t great going through the first 20 minutes, 40 minutes. We were giving up too much, looking like we were lacking some energy, for sure. We had bursts offensively, but when you’re a little tired, you’re kind of getting a little complacent, loose defensively, you know? It just takes a lot of effort to try and get the legs going and defend, so we were giving up too much. We knew if we just could amp it up just a little bit more, we were in a game and we could give ourselves a chance. We scored some timely goals.”
- Colorado Head Coach Jared Bednar on Tuesday’s matchup against Ottawa
