Colorado Avalanche (18-14-0) @ Vancouver Canucks (15-9-5)

8:30 p.m. MT | Rogers Arena | View: Height, Height+ | Listen: Altitude Sports Radio (92.5 FM)

After a big home win against Nashville, the Avalanche head to a three-game road trip against Pacific Division teams that begins in Vancouver. This is the first of three meetings between the teams this season as they will play again in Vancouver on February 4th and in Denver on April 10th.

Rebound the ball

The Avalanche defeated the Nashville Predators 5-2 on Saturday at Ball Arena. Nathan MacKinnon scored three points and became the first player in the NHL to score 50 points this season. In addition, Artturi Lehkonen scored two goals and Mikko Rantanen contributed three assists. In his first appearance in burgundy and blue, Mackenzie Blackwood made 37 saves. After a scoreless first frame, the Avs opened the scoring with Ross Colton’s 10th goal of the season at 11:32 of the second period. Late in the middle frame, MacKinnon doubled Colorado’s lead with his 12th goal of the year at 18:52. With his 947th career point, MacKinnon moved into third place on the Avalanche/Nordiques franchise all-time list, passing Michel Goulet. At 3:30 of the third period, Lehkonen scored his ninth goal of the year after hitting the top right corner of the net on a rush from the left circle. The Predators didn’t go away quietly, scoring two goals from Steven Stamkos at 13:03 and Luke Evangelista at 15:08, cutting their deficit to one. After a dominant period of play, the Avs took a two-goal lead when MacKinnon scored his 13th goal of the year on an empty net at 18:08. Just 62 seconds later, Lehkonen scored his 10th goal of the year, scoring an unanswered goal at 19:10 to give the Avs a 5-2 lead.

An avalanche of points

Nate the Great

MacKinnon leads the NHL in points (50) and assists (37).

Elk crossing

Rantanen ranks third in the NHL in points (46), fifth in goals (18) and sixth in assists (28).

All greetings Cale

Makar leads NHL defensemen in points (37) and assists (28), while he ranks second in goals (9). He ranks sixth in assists among all NHL skaters.

Story

In 130 previous regular season games, the Avalanche are 66-46-18 against the Canucks, including wins in the last four meetings. The two teams have played in the playoffs twice, with the Avs defeating the Canucks in the Western Conference quarterfinals in 1996 and 2001, winning in six and four games, respectively. The Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in both seasons.

Beaten by the Bruins

The Canucks lost 5-1 to the Boston Bruins on Saturday at Rogers Arena. Boston scored two goals in the first period thanks to Brad Marchand on the power play at 5:12 and Morgan Geekie at 8:08. It was a similar story in the second period as Pavel Zacha gave the Bruins a 3-0 lead at 1:12 and Marc McLaughlin increased it to 4-0 at 11:49. Just 26 seconds into the third period, David Pastrnak scored to give the Bruins a 5-0 lead before Max Sasson broke Boston’s shutout with the final score at 10:13.

Prosperity in the Pacific Northwest

MacKinnon has 29 points (9g/20a) in 26 games against the Canucks, including four points (1g/3a) in three games during the 2023-24 season.

In nine games against Vancouver, Makar has recorded 14 points (3g/11a), including four points (1g/3a) in three contests last season.

Rantanen has 29 points (14g/15a) in 18 games against Vancouver, including 10 points (6g/4a) in his last six games.

Canucks Contributors

Quinn Hughes leads the Canucks in points (34) and assists (27).

Jake DeBrusk leads Vancouver in goals (14) and is fourth in points (23).

Elias Pettersson is second on the team in points (26) and assists (18), while he is third in goals (8).

A numbers game

1.8

Since December 7, the Avalanche have allowed 1.8 goals per game, which is the fifth-fewest goals in the NHL during that span.

55

The Avalanche have scored 55 goals on the road this season, the sixth most in the NHL.

5

MacKinnon became the fifth active player to score 50 points in ten consecutive seasons, joining Patrick Kane, John Tavares, Alex Ovechkin and Anze Kopitar.

Quote that left its mark

“I thought he was outstanding. (He) just had complete control of the game.”

– Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar on Mackenzie Blackwood’s performance in his Avalanche debut