Colorado Avalanche (5-1-3) @ New Jersey Devils (7-1-0)
11 a.m. MT | Prudential Center | Watch: Altitude, Altitude+, NHL Network | Listen: Altitude Sports Radio (92.5 FM)
The Avalanche concludes their two-game road trip on Sunday with the beginning of a home-and-home with the New Jersey Devils. This is the first of two meetings between the teams this season as they’ll play in Denver on Tuesday.
Latest Result (COL): COL 2, BOS 3
Latest Result (NJD): SJS 1, NJD 3
Defeat in Boston
The Avalanche lost 3-2 to the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Saturday. Artturi Lehkonen scored his third and fourth goals of the season while Nathan MacKinnon recorded the primary assist on both tallies. Lehkonen opened the scoring at 4:26 of the first period with a one-timer from the slot set up by MacKinnon’s low-to-high feed. At 14:16 of the opening frame, Viktor Arvidsson tied the game before Michael Eyssimont gave the Bruins a 2-1 lead at 15:55 of the first with a shot off the rush. Morgan Geekie put Boston ahead 3-1 at 19:55 of the second period with a wraparound. With the extra attack, Colorado cut its deficit in half at 19:40 of the third period via Lehkonen's net-front deflection on MacKinnon’s slap shot from the point.
Leading the Way
Nate the Great
MacKinnon is tied for fifth in the NHL in points (13) and tied for eighth in goals (6).
All Hail Cale
Among NHL defensemen, Cale Makar is first in points (10), tied for first in goals (3) and tied for second in assists (7).
Marty Party
Martin Necas is tied for eighth in the NHL in goals (6) and tied for 10th in points (12).
Series History
In 46 regular-season games against the Devils, the Avalanche has a record of 24-18-4. The two teams have met once in the playoffs, with the Avalanche defeating the Devils in seven games in the 2001 Stanley Cup Final.
Success Against San Jose
The Devils defeated the San Jose Sharks 3-1 at Prudential Center on Friday. San Jose’s William Eklund opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 2:25 of the first period. In the second period, the Devils took a 2-1 lead after Dougie Hamilton scored power-play goals at 40 seconds and 9:08. Connor Brown doubled New Jersey’s lead with an empty-net tally at 19:13 of the third period.
Doing Work Against the Devils
MacKinnon has posted 22 points (9g/13a) in 21 games against the Devils.
In eight contests against New Jersey, Makar has recorded 10 points (2g/8a).
Necas has registered 15 points (4g/11a) in 18 regular-season games against the Devils in addition to three goals in five playoff contests.
Scoring by the Shore
Jesper Bratt leads the Devils in points (11), is tied for first in assists (7) and tied for second in goals (4).
Jack Hughes leads the Devils in goals (6), ranks second in points (10) and is tied for fifth in assists (4).
Nico Hischier is tied for the team lead in assists (7) and is third in points (9).
A Numbers Game
43.6%
Avalanche players have possessed the puck in the offensive zone for 43.6% of the games, which is the fourth highest among teams this season.
5
Makar, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, has posted five points (1g/4a) in six games against Hischier, who was the top pick in that draft.
696
MacKinnon’s 696 even-strength points since entering the NHL in 2013-14 are the second most during that span.
Quote That Left a Mark
"But we came out in the third (period) again, played hard and got a bunch of chances. But it was a little bit like the first (period). [We] didn’t capitalize on any of our chances and time’s running out. So, ends up being a close game but we gotta try and capitalize a little bit better than we did in a couple areas.”
-- Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar on Saturday’s game against the Bruins
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