Colorado Begins Homestand Versus Vegas

After a quick trip to the desert on Monday and Tuesday, the Colorado Avalanche returns home to host the Vegas Golden Knights in the first contest of a two-game set on Thursday. It is the beginning of a six-game stretch at Ball Arena for the club.
Colorado (20-8-3) fell 5-4 to the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday in its first shootout of the season. The Avs fought back from an early two-goal deficit in the first period to take a 4-2 lead in the final frame thanks to scoring from Gabriel Landeskog (one goal, one assist), Mikko Rantanen (one goal, one assist), Nathan MacKinnon (one goal, two assists) and Valeri Nichushkin (one goal) but couldn't hold onto the lead, surrendering two markers in the third period. Samuel Girard added two assists on the night and goaltender Jonas Johansson started in his first contest in an Avalanche sweater, making 28 saves.

Vegas is coming off a 5-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Monday as Mark Stone (two goals, one assist) and William Karlsson (one goal, two assists) both registered three-point nights. Jonathan Marchessault (one goal, one assist) also finished with a multi-point effort, while netminder Robin Lehner stopped 15-of-16 shots for his third consecutive win.

Avalanche vs. Vegas Golden Knights

Ball Arena | Denver, Colo.
| Game Time: | 7:00 p.m. | | --- | --- | | TV: | Altitude, AT&T Sportnet (VGK) -- blackouts apply | | Radio: | Altitude Sports Radio, FM 92.5 (KKSE) | | Live Streams: | AltitudeNow.com, Official app (blackouts apply to all) | | Online Audio: | Listen Live Here | | Follow: | @Avalanche, Official app, Gamecenter |

COLORADO-VEGAS CONNECTIONS

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare played two seasons with Vegas after the team selected him in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft… Golden Knights defenseman Nick Holden played three seasons with Colorado from 2013-2016.

HISTORY

The Avs and Golden Knights split the first four games of the season series as the clubs met for four straight contests from Feb. 14-22. Colorado defeated Vegas by 3-2 scores in both the second and third matchups of the set, including a victory in the 2021 NHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe game on Feb. 20. The Golden Knights shutout the Avalanche in each of its wins, earning a 1-0 victory in the first contest and then evening up the series with a 3-0 clean sheet at Ball Arena in the last meeting between the teams. Nathan MacKinnon (two goals, two assists) and Mikko Rantanen (three assists) have led the way for the Avs in scoring, while William Karlsson (four assists), Alex Tuch (three goals) and Jonathan Marchessault have headed the offensive production for the Knights.
Colorado owns a 7-5-0 all-time record against Vegas, with an impressive 4-1-0 mark as the home team. Thursday's matchup is the fifth contest of an eight-game season series between the clubs, who are the top two teams in the West Division. The Avs host the Golden Knights for the last time this year at Ball Arena on Saturday afternoon.

ROSTER REPORT

The Avs had an off day on Wednesday, so their lineup likely won't be known until after morning skate. Dan Renouf and Logan O'Connor were reinserted into game action on Tuesday, as Bowen Byram did not dress because of a lower-body injury and J.T. Compher was a healthy scratch to gain some more rest, according to head coach Jared Bednar. Goaltender Philipp Grubauer is expected to get his 26th start of the campaign.

INJURY UPDATE

Coach Bednar said after Tuesday's game that Bowen Byram (lower body) is likely day-to-day but he would find out more information on the rookie defenseman after the club returns to Denver. Defenseman Conor Timmins is close to being medically cleared from his upper-body ailment, while Pavel Francouz (lower body) and Erik Johnson (upper body) are both out long term with injuries.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS

Since last meeting the Avalanche on Feb. 22, the Golden Knights have been on a tear, winning six of their past seven games and 12 out of 15 to hold the top spot in the West Division with 45 points (22-7-1)--two points ahead of second-place Colorado (43 points). The club has the second-most wins in the NHL and is tied for third in the league in points.
Vegas' recipe for success has been a balanced attack of offense and defense, as the squad owns the second-best goals-against average (2.20) and ranks sixth in goals for per game (3.33).
Versus the Avs, the Golden Knights have been strong on special teams, going 9-for-9 on the penalty kill and converting on the man advantage in two out of the four matchups. Marc-Andre Fleury has played a major role in the team's success as well, shutting out the Avalanche in each of his wins while owning a .953 save percentage and 1.51 goals-against average when facing Colorado.

(OPPOSING) PLAYER TO WATCH: SHEA THEODORE

Shea Theodore has hit his stride in the offensive end as of late, recording at least a point in seven of his last eight contests to collect two goals and eight assists over the stretch. He leads all Vegas blueliners with 24 points (five goals, 24 assists), while ranking third on the entire roster in scoring and second in power-play points (eight).
Theodore is in his fourth season with the Golden Knights, compiling 36 tallies and 100 helpers in 238 games. The defender has registered the fifth-most points in franchise history and owns the most goals and assists all-time by a Vegas defenseman. When facing the Avalanche, Theodore has one goal and three assists in 10 meetings, which is tied for the fourth-most points against the Avalanche in a Golden Knights sweater. This season, he has one assist and a minus-2 rating in three contests against Colorado.

NUMBERS GAME

20

The Avalanche has scored a goal in 20 straight periods, setting a franchise record. In that span, the club has tallied 11 goals in the first period, 12 in the second and 12 in the final frame.

35

Colorado's plus-35 goal differential ranks second in the NHL and first in the West Division. Over its eight-game point streak, the club has outscored its opponent 36-12 for a plus-24 goal differential.

200

Nathan MacKinnon notched his 200th goal in his career on Tuesday, becoming the eighth player in franchise history and fifth in Avalanche history to record 200 or markers. MacKinnon is the second player from the 2013 NHL draft to reach the milestone (Calgary Flames' Sean Monahan) and did it at the age of 25 years, 203 days, the fifth-youngest active player to attain 200 career regular-season goals.

NOTEBOOK

Colorado is currently on a six-game winning streak at Ball Arena, owning a 12-4-1 record overall on home ice… Mikko Rantanen has notched a team-leading 19 markers this season, which is the third-most goals in the NHL thus far. His 11 tallies in March are the most in the league and tied for third-most by an Avalanche player in any month since 1995-96… Colorado's 38 goals in the third period are tied for the fourth most in the NHL, while its 37 markers in the second frame rank tied for ninth in the league… Nathan MacKinnon (five goals, eight assists) and Mikko Rantanen (seven goals, six assists) are both on seven-game point streaks, while Gabriel Landeskog (three goals, eight assists) has registered at least a point in six straight contests and Valeri Nichushkin (two goals, two assists) has found the scoresheet in three consecutive matchups… Colorado has turned over the puck 174 times this year, the third-fewest in the league and has the 13th-most takeaways with 206… The Avalanche has the second-best penalty-kill unit in the NHL, extinguishing 87.4 percent of its penalties this campaign.