Colorado Avalanche (14-13-0) @ Detroit Red Wings (10-12-4)
5 p.m. MT | Little Caesars Arena | Watch: Altitude, Altitude+ | Listen: Altitude Sports Radio (92.5 FM)
The Avalanche are in Motor City to take on the Red Wings in the third game of their road trip. This is the first of two games this season between the clubs, as they’ll meet in Denver on March 25.
Latest Result (COL): COL 3, CAR 5
Latest Result (DET): DET 1, OTT 2
A Loss in Carolina
The Avalanche lost 5-3 to the Carolina Hurricanes at the Lenovo Center on Thursday. Valeri Nichushkin scored his fourth and fifth goals of the season, Cale Makar added two assists, while Scott Wedgewood made 30 saves. Artturi Lehkonen opened the scoring with his sixth goal of the season at 9:13 of the first period off a feed from Makar. The Hurricanes responded with three goals from Eric Robinson at 16:05 of the first, Seth Jarvis at 4:09 of the second, and Jack Roslovic at 6:41 of the middle frame. Nichushkin cut Carolina’ lead in half with a left-circle wrist shot at 14:41 of the third off assists from Parker Kelly and Devon Toews. Martin Necas doubled the Hurricanes’ lead with a power-play goal 17:49 of the third. The Burgundy and Blue had a comeback on the horizon as Nichushkin put the Avs within one at 18:13 with a shot from the doorstep, posting his first multi-goal game of the season. However, that comeback fell just short when Carolina regained its two-goal lead and sealed its victory with an Andrei Svechnikov empty-net goal at 19:44.
Amongst the League Leaders
Nathan MacKinnon leads the NHL in assists (31) and is second in points (40).
Makar leads NHL defensemen in assists (26) and points (34) while being tied for first in goals (8). Among all NHL skaters, he’s tied for fifth in assists and tied for 10th in points.
Mikko Rantanen is tied for seventh in goals (15) and points (35).
History
In 88 previous regular-season matchups, the Avalanche are 40-41-7 against the Red Wings, including 13-3-1 in their last 17 meetings since the start of the 2015-16 season. The two rivals have split the 34 playoff games they’ve played, as well. The first two playoff meetings between the teams saw the Avs beat the Wings 4-2 in the 1996 Western Conference Final and Detroit returning the favor in 1997. In 1999 and 2000, Colorado beat Detroit in the Western Conference Semi-Finals, 4-2 and 4-1, respectively. Detroit has won the last two playoff series, winning 4-3 in the 2002 Western Conference Final and 4-0 in the Western Conference Semi-Finals.
Second Best Against the Sens
The Red Wings lost 2-1 to the Ottawa Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday. Ottawa’s Linus Ullmark made 19 saves while Detroit’s Ville Husso stopped 30 shots. Josh Norris opened the scoring for the Senators at 12:14 of the first period off assists from Brady Tkachuk and Drake Batherson. Detroit tied the game with a power-play goal from Alex DeBrincat at 6:15 of the third. Norris scored his second of the night at 19:17 of the third to win the game for Ottawa.
Dominating Against Detroit
MacKinnon has posted 29 points (15g/14a) in 19 previous matchups against the Red Wings, including 12 points (5g/7a) in his last four games against Detroit.
Makar has recorded 16 points (6g/10a) in seven-career games against Detroit, including 10 points (5g/5a) in his last four contests versus the Red Wings.
In 13 previous games against the Red Wings, Rantanen has posted 18 points (2g/16a), including six points (1g/5a) against Detroit.
Winged Wheeling and Dealing
Lucas Raymond leads the Red Wings in assists (18) and points (27).
Dylan Larkin leads Detroit in goals (12) and is third in points (20).
DeBrincat is second on the team in goals (11) and points (22) while being tied for second in assists (11).
A Numbers Game
19
Makar’s 19 points (5g/14a) on the road are tied for the seventh most in the NHL.
3.31
The Avalanche are averaging 3.31 goals per game on the road, which ranks ninth in the NHL.
5
Colorado has won five of six games (5-0-1) at Little Caesars Arena since it opened ahead of the 2017-18 season.
Quote That Left a Mark
"If you look at a guy like Val, he's been consistently getting better since he's been back in the lineup. And now he's starting to produce."
-- Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar on Valeri Nichushkin’s play
