WHEN: 7:00 p.m. MT
WHERE: Ball Arena - Denver, Colorado
TV: SEG+, UtahHC+, Utah 16 | RADIO: KSL Sports Zone 97.5 FM, NHL App
Another Central Division matchup looms tonight for the Utah Hockey Club (12-11-5) against the fourth-place Colorado Avalanche (17-13-0). Colorado sits five points ahead of Utah in the Central Division table, and the Avs have won three in a row entering tonight. Utah enters tonight’s action after a 5-4 shootout loss to the Western Conference-leading Minnesota Wild on Tuesday at Delta Center, and Utah has now picked up points in six of its last seven games. The two-game swing to Colorado and San Jose for Utah is this season’s “Mentors Trip”, with each player bringing along a mentor to enjoy the road trip with the team.
ONE-TIMERS
- Kevin Stenlund has goals in three straight games.
- Juuso Välimäki has goals in back-to-back games.
- Utah has scored four or more goals in three straight games.
- Utah is 8-6-2 on the road this season.
- Utah has scored first in 10 of its last 13 games.
TONIGHT’S MATCHUP
The Avalanche have won three games in a row and four of their last five to climb to 34 points on the season, five ahead of Utah in the Central Division standings. Nathan MacKinnon leads the club and leads the NHL with 46 points (10G, 36A), and he became the third-fastest active NHL player (Connor McDavid, Sydney Crosby) to reach the 600-point milestone on Tuesday when he recorded a goal and four helpers. Cale Makar is having another phenomenal season and leads all NHL defensemen with 36 points (9G, 27A). The Avalanche rank ninth in scoring at 3.33 goals per game but have struggled to keep the puck out of their net and rank among the league’s worst in terms of goals allowed. The team traded for goaltender Scott Wedgewood on Dec. 1, and the veteran netminder has made an immediate impact with three wins in his first four games in an Avalanche sweater.
WHO TO WATCH
UTAH: #4 JUUSO VÄLIMÄKI - Utah defenseman Juuso Välimäki has goals in back-to-back games after giving Utah the lead in the third period of Tuesday night’s game against Minnesota. This is the first time that Välimäki has scored goals in consecutive NHL games, and the rearguard now has two on the season. Välimäki, 26, was selected to Team Finland for the upcoming 4 Nations Faceoff tournament.
COLORADO: #96 MIKKO RANTANEN - Rantenen recorded his third hat trick of the season on Tuesday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Along with the three goals, the Fin also registered a pair of assists for a five-point night. Rantanen leads Colorado with 18 goals and is tied for fourth in league scoring with 42 points (18G, 24A).
LOOK BACK
Utah came inches away from knocking off the team with the best record in the NHL on Tuesday at Delta Center. The Minnesota Wild claimed a 5-4 shootout victory after Matt Boldy was the only skater to convert in the skills competition. Captain Clayton Keller rose to the occasion in the third period and netted two power-play goals to tie the game on two occasions before Välimäki gave Utah a 4-3 lead later in the third. Minnesota’s Marco Rossi eventually tied the game at 4-4 with 43 seconds left in regulation, and neither side could produce a goal in overtime. Goaltender Karel Vejmelka made 34 saves as Utah picked up a standings point for the third straight game.
LAST MEETING
Colorado downed Utah 5-1 at Delta Center on Oct. 24. The Avalanche led 4-0 into the third period before Lawson Crouse scored Utah’s only goal of the contest. Casey Middlestadt led Colorado with a goal and two assists while five different Avs found the back of the net.
KEVIN STENLUND
Kevin Stenlund has goals in three consecutive games for the first time in his career after he opened the scoring on Tuesday night against the Minnesota Wild. Stenlund has four goals on the campaign in total after Tuesday. He set his career high of 11 last season with the Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers. The 28-year-old Swede also bagged one of Utah’s two shorthanded goals this season when he lit the lamp in the third period against the Philadelphia Flyers last Sunday to seal a 4-2 win.
HIGH-OCTANE
Utah has scored at least four goals in three straight games for the first time since the first three contests of the season. Utah’s 2.96 goals per game only ranks 19th in the NHL, but the team’s 58 5-on-5 goals rank 16th. Utah is one of the strongest teams in the league when playing at full strength, and Head Coach Andre Tourigny’s club’s 1.21 5-on-5 goals for/against ratio is the eighth-best in the NHL. Utah has scored four goals or more on 13 occasions this season, and is 10-0-3 when reaching the four-goal mark.
LOOK AHEAD
Utah continues its road trip with a visit to Silicon Valley and the San Jose Sharks on Saturday, Dec. 14 before returning home to face the Vancouver Canucks on Dec. 18 at Delta Center.
