Avalanche Faces Bruins In Columbus Day Matinee

The Colorado Avalanche wraps up a three-game, season-opening road trip on Monday afternoon against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. It's the second-straight matinee contest for the Avs, who squared off against the New Jersey Devils in a 12 p.m. MT start on Saturday.
The Columbus Day tilt between the Avs and Bruins is slated for 11 a.m. MT and is the first of consecutive outings against Boston. Colorado will host the B's in its home opener on Wednesday night at Pepsi Center.
Colorado enters Monday's game with a 1-1-0 record while the Bruins won their first game of the season on Thursday, taking a 4-3 victory over the Nashville Predators.

Last Time Out

The Avalanche fell 4-1 to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday afternoon at Prudential Center. Carl Soderberg scored the lone goal for the Avalanche, while Tyson Jost picked up his first NHL assist on the play. Colorado outshot the Devils 41-39 but allowed three power-play tallies.
Boston topped the defending-Western Conference champion Nashville Predators on Thursday night at home. David Krejci notched three assists while Charlie McAvoy and Jake Debrusk each had a goal and an assist, the first NHL regular-season tallies for each of the rookies. Boston finished with a 32-29 advantage in shots and finished 1-for-5 on the power play.

Last Time They Met

The Avs scored the first three goals of the game and ultimately took a 4-2 win over Boston at TD Garden on Dec. 8, 2016. Colorado led 2-0 after the opening period and scored early in the middle stanza to take a commanding three-goal lead. David Pastrnak scored two goals to bring Boston in striking distance, but Carl Soderberg's tally late in the frame gave Colorado a 4-2 lead it would hold through the final period. Matt Duchene, Nathan MacKinnon and John Mitchell were the other goal scorers for Colorado--all three tallies coming on unassisted plays.

What to Watch

Avs Streak in Boston
The Avs are 19-10-1-0 in 30 all-time meetings with the Bruins (since 1995-96), including an 11-2-1-0 record as the road team in the series. Colorado has been victorious in the last nine meetings at TD Garden. The teams played to a 3-3 tie on Oct. 11, 1999, and the last time the Avalanche lost a game on the road in the series was on March 30, 1998 (4-1).
Special Teams
Three of the four goals Colorado allowed in Saturday's loss to New Jersey came on the penalty kill. While the Avalanche has yet to concede a goal at even strength, the team enters Monday's contest having allowed five goals on 10 penalty kills.
B's Returning From Injury
Boston has been hit hard by injuries to start the season, missing forwards Patrice Bergeron and Austin Czarnik and defenseman Torey Krug in Thursday's opener. Krug, who had a fractured jaw, was cleared for contact on Saturday, skated in practice with a full-face shield and could return to the lineup against the Avs.

Player to Watch

Colorado: Defenseman Tyson Barrie
Barrie has notched a goal and an assist through Colorado's first two contests of the season and continues to be a presence on the power play, having assisted on Mikko Rantanen's man-advantage tally in the Avs' opening-night win over the Rangers on Thursday.
Boston: Forward David Krejci
Krejci centered rookies Jake DeBrusk and Anders Bjork for much of Boston's season opener, and the two young players each tallied their first NHL point. Krejci finished with three assists, posting helpers on DeBrusk's goal and the first NHL marker for defenseman Charlie McAvoy.

The Details

Monday's Columbus Day matinee between the Avalanche and the Bruins is set for 11 a.m. MT and can be watched live on Altitude TV. The radio broadcast can be heard on Altitude Sports Radio AM950 or online at ColoradoAvalanche.com.