Avalanche Weekly Update - Dec. 6

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Avalanche Notes

FACEOFF SUCCESS: The Avs won a season-high 73.6 percent of their faceoffs against Columbus on Dec. 1, the second-highest faceoff percentage in Avalanche history (since the NHL began tracking the stat in 1999-00), which is just short of the 74.1% success rate set on Dec. 23, 2011 vs. Tampa Bay.

Upcoming Games

Tuesday, December 6 at Nashville Predators

Bridgestone Arena, 6 p.m. (MT), TV: Altitude, Radio: 950 AM
The Avs play the first of a four-game road trip against Nashville on Tuesday, exactly a week after hosting the Predators at Pepsi Center. Colorado is 0-2-0 in the 2016-17 season series.

Thursday, December 8 at Boston Bruins

TD Garden, 5 p.m. (MT), TV: Altitude, Radio: 92.5 The Wolf
Colorado and Boston will play the second and final meeting of the 2016-17 season series on Thursday. The Bruins shut out the Avalanche 2-0 on Nov. 13. The Avalanche and Bruins split the season series in 2015-16, with each team winning on the road. The Avalanche's last defeat in Boston was March 30, 1998.

Saturday, December 10 at Montreal Canadiens

Bell Centre, 5 p.m. (MT), TV: Altitude, Radio: 92.5 The Wolf
The Avs and the Canadiens square off in the first of two contests this season. The Habs lead the league with 35 points and are tied with the Rangers for the most wins (17). Montreal will make its only appearance in Denver on Feb. 7.

Sunday, December 11 at Toronto Maple Leafs

Air Canada Centre, 5 p.m. (MT), TV: Altitude, Radio: 950 AM
Colorado closes out the road trip against the Toronto Maple Leafs, its fourth back-to-back set of the season. Colorado is 2-1-0 in the first game and 1-2-0 in the second.

Community Highlights

On Friday, Andreas Martinsen and Joe Colborne skated with kids from York International K-12 School at the Avs' practice facility as part of the Break the Ice Program.

Later that day, Mikko Rantanen and Nikita Zadorov participated in the Playworks Street Hockey Extravaganza, a clinic in conjunction with the NHL/NHLPA's Industry Growth Fund Grant Program.

MOVEMBER FINISHES STRONG
The Avs' annual Movember campaign finished with more than $5,600 in donations, good for a national ranking of 278. Goaltender Calvin Pickard and left wing Cody McLeod were the top individual earners for the Avalanche, with donations of $632 and $587, respectively.

Prospect Spotlight

Avalanche prospect Tyson Jost was one of 32 players named to the preliminary roster for Canada's World Junior Championship team on Tuesday and will take part in Hockey Canada's four-day camp that runs from Dec. 10-14 in Blainville, Quebec.

Also, Colorado goaltending prospect Adam Wernerwas named to Sweden's 26-man World Junior Championship roster on Monday. He is one of three goalies expected to travel with the Swedish national team for the tournament, which begins on Dec. 26 and runs through Jan. 5.

Quotable

"There's so many different reasons why you set your lineup. You need penalty killers, you need centermen. Cody has been good for us. He's doing everything he can. He plays hard. He's intense. When we need a pick-me-up, he's out there stirring it up. He's competing to win, and that's what he does. He's physical. He's been doing all those things in practice and in games. He's working hard before and after practice." - Head Coach Jared Bednar on left wing Cody McLeod returning to the lineup on Tuesday