Morning Skate Report: Avs Look to Continue Road Success

DETROIT--After playing its last two games at home, the Colorado Avalanche hits the road again tonight at the Detroit Red Wings.
Colorado is 9-4-2 away from Pepsi Center, tied for the most away points in the NHL (20). The Avs have scored 60 goals on the road, the highest of any team in the league.

The Avalanche has also won five straight outings away from the Mile High City, the club's longest road winning streak since March 25 to April 10, 2014. The last time the team won six consecutive games on the road was Oct. 8 to Nov. 1, 2013.
"We have been on the road a lot to start the season here," said veteran forward Matt Calvert. "Anytime you have the record we do on the road you are feeling pretty good, but we got to continue that. We got a big four games here, obviously seeing some Eastern Conference teams. We are going to try to start with two points here in Detroit tonight."

The contest marks the beginning of an week-long trip for the Avs. Colorado also plays at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday before wrapping up the road swing in the Sunshine State with games at the Florida Panthers on Thursday and the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.
This trip finishes a stretch that has Colorado playing 19-of-28 away from home. At the end of it, the Avs will be nearly halfway done with their road schedule (19 of 41).
Detroit has won its last two games, defeating the Boston Bruins 4-1 on Saturday and the St. Louis Blues 4-3 on Wednesday. After starting the year with a 1-7-2 record in their first 10 games, the Red Wings have gone 11-4-1 since.
"Detroit is a fast team. We kind of touched on that this morning, we always go over the other team in the morning, and you know we are a fast team too," Calvert said. "I think it's just about doing the little things right… It's pretty simple. Our recipe to success is getting pucks deep, using our legs. It sounds cliché, but when we do that we give ourselves a great chance to win every night."
The Avalanche has points in 10 straight games (8-0-2), its longest streak since winning 10 in a row last season. During this stretch, five of the eight wins have come away from Pepsi Center.

100 GAMES FOR GIRARD

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Tonight's contest will mark the 100th NHL game for defenseman Samuel Girard. He logged a career-high 26:36 of ice time in his last game, Colorado's overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues on Friday.
The Nashville Predators' second-round selection (47th overall) of the 2016 NHL Draft, Girard has played his last 94 games with the Avalanche. Colorado acquired the blueliner last season on Nov. 5, 2017 in a three-way trade that also included the Ottawa Senators.
"Once you saw him the first time, you saw that he had a lot of talent," fellow defenseman Patrik Nemeth said of Girard. "For every player, I think the more you play the more you mature in your game. You become better at reading plays and I think he has come a long way, so he is doing a great job."
Girard has 35 points (six goals, 29 assists) in his first 99 games played.
View: Avalanche Projected Lineup at Red Wings

SECOND STAR OF NOVEMBER

Nathan MacKinnon was named the NHL's Second Star for the month of November on Saturday, his first league honor of the season.
In 14 games last month, he tied for the league lead with 23 points (nine goals, 14 assists), which also equaled the Avalanche record for scoring in November set by Peter Forsberg in 1995-96.
MacKinnon's 23 points were a career high for him in a single month and his 41 points (18 goals, 23 assists) on the season ranks second in the NHL, behind only linemate Mikko Rantanen (43 points).
MacKinnon's 18 goals are the most by a Colorado player through 26 contests, topping Joe Sakic's 16 in 1995-96.