NHL Preview: Dallas Stars at Colorado Avalanche

DALLAS STARS NOTES:

LAST DALLAS STARS GAME
Nov. 25, 2022 – STARS 4 vs. JETS 5 (OT)
Led by forward Jason Robertson’s third consecutive multi-goal game (2-1—3), the Stars earned a point in a 5-4 overtime loss against the Winnipeg Jets at American Airlines Center. The Stars have points in seven consecutive games (4-0-3), earning 11 points over that span. Robertson’s second goal tied the game with 20 seconds remaining in regulation to give Dallas its second consecutive multi-goal comeback in the closing stages of regulation. Rookie forward Wyatt Johnston (1-0—1) evened the score 1-1 just 26 seconds after Winnipeg registered the game’s opening tally. Captain Jamie Benn tallied his 10th goal of the season as part of a two-point night (1- 1—2), while forward Tyler Seguin (0-2—2) and defenseman Miro Heiskanen (0-2—2) also had multi-point efforts. Forward Ty Dellandrea (0-1—1) picked up an assist to give him points in three consecutive games (1-2—3) and Joe Pavelski (0-1—1) earned his 11th point (3-8—11) in his past eight games. Goaltender Jake Oettinger stopped 23 of 28 shots in his fourth consecutive start. PP: 1-4 | PK: 0-2 | SF: 41 | SA: 28 | DAL TOI: Heiskanen (27:12 – game high) | Attendance: 18,532 (sellout)
Three Stars: 1. WPG – C. Hellebuyck 2. DAL – J. Benn 3. WPG – A. Lowry

UPCOMING GAME SCHEDULE
Date Opponent Time (CT) Location TV/Radio
Sat., Nov. 26, 2022 Colorado Avalanche 8 p.m. Ball Arena BSSWX/KTCK
Mon., Nov. 28, 2022 St. Louis Blues 7 p.m. Enterprise Center BSSW/KTCK
Thu., Dec. 1, 2022 Anaheim Ducks 7:30 p.m. American Airlines Center BSSWX/KTCK
Sun., Dec. 4, 2022 Minnesota Wild 2 p.m. American Airlines Center BSSW/KTCK
Tue., Dec. 6, 2022 Toronto Maple Leafs 7:30 p.m. American Airlines Center ESPN+/KTCK

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Nov. 18 – Loaned forward Matej Blumel to Texas (AHL)
Nov. 19 – Recalled forward Matej Blumel from Texas (AHL)
Nov. 22 – Loaned forward Matej Blumel to Texas (AHL)
Nov. 22 – Recalled forward Fredrik Karlstrom from Texas (AHL)

INJURIES
Man-games lost, 2022-23: 14
NAME INJURY # OF GAMES DATES
D Miro Heiskanen Upper body 3 Oct. 25-29
G Jake Oettinger Lower body 4 Nov. 1-8
F Denis Gurianov Upper body 6 Nov. 11-21
F Roope Hintz Lower body 1 Nov. 19

DALLAS STARS NOTES
TONIGHT’S GAME: The Stars hit the road for two games beginning Saturday against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena (8 p.m. CT, TV: Bally Sports Southwest Extra, Radio: The Ticket 96.7-FM/1310-AM). This caps off Dallas’ second back-to-back of the season, which opened last night against the Winnipeg Jets at American Airlines Center. This is the second of four meetings between the Stars and Avs, and one of two in Denver. Colorado skated to a 3-2 shootout victory in the series opener on Nov. 21 in Dallas. The Stars will wrap up their two-game trek on Monday against the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center.

HAVE A SEAT, COME RIDE WITH ME

• The Stars are 0-0-1 thus far against the Avalanche this season, dropping the series opener 3-2 in a shootout on Nov. 21 at American Airlines Center.
• Forward Jason Robertson led the Stars with two goals (2-0—2) in the game on Nov. 21 giving him five points (3-2—5) in four career contests against the Avs. All three of his goals have come at even strength.
• Forward Ty Dellandrea picked up an assist (0-1—1) in the series opener this season in his first career game vs. Colorado.
• Forward Roope Hintz, who earned an assist on Nov. 21 vs. Colorado, enters Saturday’s game with seven points (2-5—7) over his past seven games against the Avalanche.
• Dallas owns a 66-63-20 all-time record vs. Colorado, including a 25-41-8 mark on the road.
• Last season, Dallas went 2-1-0 vs. Colorado, splitting the two games at home and earning a victory at Ball Arena on Feb. 15.
• Dallas’ 4-1 win at Ball Arena that night snapped Colorado’s 19-game point streak and gave the Avs their first regulation home loss in four months. (They were 20-0-2 in their past 22 home contests leading into the game).
• Goaltender Jake Oettinger made a career high 46 saves in the win, while forwards Joe Pavelski (2-2—4), Jason Robertson (1-1— 2) and Tyler Seguin (1-2—3) registered multi-point performances.
• Pavelski co-leads active Stars in goals (18) and shares second in points (18-23—41) in 50 career games against the Avalanche.
• Seguin enters tonight’s contest with 39 points (18-21—39) in 35 career games vs. Colorado.
• The Stars have earned wins in six of the past eight (6-1-1) and seven of their past 10 games against the Avs (7-2-1).
• Captain Jamie Benn leads active Stars with 42 points (13-29—42) in 51 career games against Colorado, including 19 points (6-13— 19) in 25 road games against them.
• Defenseman Ryan Suter leads all current Stars with 36 assists and shares second in points (5-36—41) in a team-high 77 career games against the Avs.
• Goaltender Jake Oettinger is 2-0-1 with a 1.36 goals-against average and .965 save percentage in two career appearances vs. Colorado.
• Netminder Scott Wedgewood is 1-0-0 with a 3.30 GAA and .898 SV% in two career appearances vs. Colorado.

2022-23 REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE
Nov. 21: Avalanche 3 vs. Stars 2 (shootout; American Airlines Center)
Nov. 26 at Colorado
March 4, 2023 vs. Colorado
April 1, 2023 at Colorado

I THINK I’M ON THE EDGE OF SOMETHING NEW WITH YOU

• With two goals and three points (2-1—3) on Friday vs. Winnipeg, Jason Robertson extended his point streak to 14 games to surpass Dave Gagner (13 GP in 1993-94) for the longest run in Dallas Stars history (1993-present).
• Robertson has registered 27 points (16-11—27) over his 14-game point streak, which is the third longest in franchise history (1967- present). Only Brian Bellows (20 GP from Jan. 11-Feb. 21, 1986 & 15 GP from Feb. 27-March 31, 1990), Jude Drouin (15 GP from Jan. 21-Feb.18, 1971) and Neal Broten (15 GP from Dec. 9, 1985-Jan. 11, 1986) have longer point streaks. Below is a list of point streaks of at least 14 games in franchise history (1967-present):

RANK PLAYER TEAM SEASON START DATE END DATE POINT STREAK G A P
1 Brian Bellows MNS 1985-1986 1/11/1986 2/21/1986 20 11 18 29
2 Brian Bellows MNS 1989-90 2/27/1990 3/31/1990 15 17 10 27
3 Jude Drouin MNS 1970-71 1/21/1971 2/18/1971 15 2 21 23
4 Neal Broten MNS 1985-86 12/9/1985 1/11/1986 15 3 19 22
5 Jason Robertson DAL 2022-23 10/27/2022 11/23/2022 14 16 11 27

• Friday marked Robertson’s third straight multi-goal game, tied with Dino Ciccarelli (2x in 1981-82) and Mike Modano (2001-02) for the second longest such run in franchise history. Ciccarelli owns the longest stretch of multi-goal outings at four contests, a mark set in 1983-84.
• Robertson has now collected 24 points (14-10—24) so far in the month of November, surpassing Mike Modano (10-12—22 in Nov. 1993) for the most in a calendar month by a Stars player since the franchise moved to Dallas in 1993-94.
• With his three-point performance on Friday against Winnipeg, Robertson (18-16—34) surpassed Connor McDavid (16) and Bo Horvat (16) for the league lead in goals this season. He also trails only McDavid (35) for the league lead in points.
• Robertson has goals in 12 of his 14 games on his current point streak and has 10 multi-point efforts over that span, including three consecutive three-goal performances (Nov. 21 vs. Colorado, Nov. 23 vs. Chicago and Nov. 25 vs. Winnipeg).
• Robertson holds the second longest point streak in the NHL this season, behind only Mitchell Marner’s active 15-game run.
• Robertson had goals in six consecutive games from Oct. 27-Nov. 8, becoming the fifth player in franchise history (1967-present) to have a goal streak of six games or more before turning 24, and the second player in Dallas Stars history (1993-present) to do so. Robertson followed Neal Broten from Jan. 23-Feb. 4, 1982 (7-12—19 in 7 GP), Jamie Benn from March 1-11, 2011 (6-1—7 in 6 GP), Mike Modano from Feb. 29-March 10, 1992 (7-2—9 in 6 GP) and Danny Grant from Oct. 16-29, 1969 (6-1—7 in 6 GP).
• Robertson was named the NHL’s First Star of the Week for the week ending Nov. 6 after registering eight points (4-4—8) and scoring in all three of his outings to push his goal streak to a career-high five games (dating to Oct. 27: 6-5—11). (His goal streak would reach six games with a tally on Nov. 8 at Winnipeg).
• The Arcadia, California native is averaging better than a point-per-game pace through his four NHL seasons (76-83—159 in 149 GP).

Below is a look at Robertson’s past 14 games
DATE G A P
Nov. 25 vs. WPG 2 1 3
Nov. 23 vs. CHI 2 0 2
Nov. 21 vs. COL 2 0 2
Nov. 19 vs. NYI 1 0 1
Nov. 17 @ FLA 0 1 1
Nov. 15 @ TBL 1 1 2
Nov. 13 @ PHI 1 1 2
Nov. 11 vs. SJS 0 2 2
Nov. 8 @ WPG 1 0 1
Nov. 5 @ EDM 1 2 3
Nov. 3 @ ARI 2 0 2
Nov. 1 vs. LA 1 2 3
Oct. 29 vs. NYR 1 1 2
Oct. 27 vs. WSH 1 0 1
TOTAL: 16 11 27

I SWEAR I WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN

• Captain Jamie Benn registered his ninth multi-point game of the season with a goal and an assist (1-1—2) against Winnipeg last night.
• His two-point effort gave him 13 points (6-7—13) over his past eight games and 24 points (10-14—24) overall (21 GP).
• With 21 points (10-11—21) in the month of November, Benn has set a career high for points in a single month. Benn trails only Robertson (14-10—24) for the most points in November.
• Of his 10 goals in November (12 GP), six have come at even strength – tied for fourth-most in the league.
• Benn recorded the 45th multi-goal game of his NHL career on Nov. 11 vs. San Jose and moved within two of tying Bill Goldsworthy (47) for fourth place on the Stars/North Stars franchise’s all-time list.
• With a hat trick (3-0—3) against the Oilers on Nov. 5, Benn (333) surpassed Dino Ciccarelli (332) for sole possession of third place among franchise leaders (1967-present) in goals.
• In addition, Benn (7) trails only Ciccarelli (14) and Bill Goldsworthy (8) for the most three-goal outings in Stars/North Stars franchise history (1967-present). Note: Mike Modano also had seven hat tricks with the Stars/North Stars franchise.
• Among team leaders, the 33-year-old ranks second in goals (10), shares second in points (10-14—24) and shares third in assists (14) in 21 GP. He also co-leads the team in power-play points (10) and ranks second in power-play goals (3).
• In the dot, Benn ranks second on the club in faceoff wins (129), faceoffs taken (212) and faceoff win percentage (60.9%).

YOU KNOW THAT I’D DO ANYTHING FOR YOU

• Forward Ty Dellandrea brings a three-game point streak into Saturday’s matchup against Colorado (1-2—3).
• It’s the longest point streak of his young career, which spans 48 career regular-season games over parts of three seasons.
• The 22-year-old has 12 points (3-9—12) in 21 games this season with Dallas.
• Entering the 2022-23 season, Dellandrea had five points (3-2—5) in 27 regular-season games from 2020-22.
• Dellandrea also has five points (2-3—5) in his past five games and has found the scoresheet in eight of his past 11 games overall (3-5—8).
• Dellandrea scored his first goal of the season on Nov. 3 at Arizona (1-0—1) and recorded his first multi-point game of 2022-23 on Nov. 17 at Florida (1-1—2).

SAY IT LIKE YOU MEAN IT

• Forward Mason Marchment has three goals and five points (3-2—5) over his past six games.
• He had points in three consecutive games (2-2—4) from Nov. 15-19, including a career-tying seven shots on goal Nov. 19 vs. New York (also March 31 vs. Chicago w/ Florida).
• Marchment ranks fifth on the team in goals (7) and seventh in points (7-6—13) and ranks ninth in hits (24). He also leads the club in takeaways (17).
• Marchment opened the scoring 2:31 into his Dallas debut on Oct. 13 at Nashville, the fourth-fastest goal by a Stars/North Stars player from the start of their franchise debut, behind Bob Barlow (1:08 on Oct. 11, 1969), Mattias Janmark (1:39 on Oct. 8, 2015) and Warren Peters (2:22 on Nov. 21, 2009).
• He became the seventh player in franchise history to score multiple goals in his Stars/North Stars debut, following Mark Parrish (3 G on Nov. 7, 2008), Fabian Brunnstrom (3 G on Oct. 15, 2008), Jaromir Jagr (2 G on Jan. 19, 2013), Dave Archibald (2 G on Oct. 10, 1987), Marc Habscheid (2 G on Jan. 27, 1986) and Jean Potvin (2 G on Nov. 1, 1978).
• Marchment signed a four-year contract with the Stars on July 13.

YOU DID IT BEFORE AND YOU’LL DO IT AGAIN

• Stars forward Roope Hintz had 10-game point streak from Oct. 27-Nov. 17.
• Hintz tallied 15 points (6-9—15) over his 10-game point streak, including four multi-point efforts.
• He has points in 12 of his past 13 games overall (6-11—17) and 24 points (8-16—24) in 20 games this season.
• With two goals on his 26th birthday on Nov. 17 at Florida, Hintz became just the second player in franchise history (1967-present) to score multiple goals on his birthday (also Dave Gagner, Dec. 11, 1990).
• Hintz co-leads the Stars in assists (16), shares second in points (8-16—24) and ranks fourth in goals (8). He also ranks third in powerplay points (1-7—8) and is one of four players on the Stars to have shorthanded goals this season (also Radek Faksa, Luke Glendening and Joel Kiviranta).
• The Tampere, Finland native also ranks second on the club in points per game (1.20) and ranks fifth with a +12 rating.
• Hintz and Robertson became the third pair of Stars/North Stars teammates with simultaneous 10-game point streaks, joining Brian Bellows and Neal Broten (10 GP from Jan. 23-Feb. 13, 1986) as well as Steve Payne and Bobby Smith (10 GP from Feb. 10-28, 1980).

THE WAY YOU OPERATE IS STRAIGHT TO THE BONE

• With his first of two assists (0-2—2) on Nov. 19 against the New York Islanders, forward Tyler Seguin recorded career point No. 700, becoming the first player from the 2010 NHL Draft to reach the 700-point mark.
• Seguin leads the 2010 draft class in both points (309-395—704) and goals (309) and shares fourth with a +67 rating. He also leads the class with 55 game-winning goals and ranks third with nine overtime markers.
• The Brampton, Ontario native enters Saturday’s matchup against Colorado with seven points (1-6—7) in his past five games and 18 points (4-14—18) in 21 games overall this season.

I WANT THIS FEELING TO STAY WITH ME FOREVER

• Defensemen Colin Miller and Esa Lindell are among the league’s leaders in plus-minus for defensemen.
• Miller, who has finished with a plus or even rating in 17 of his 20 games this season, ranks sixth among league blueliners with a +14 rating.
• Miller is +7 over his past four games and has points in three of the four (0-3—3).
• Among team leaders, the Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario native ranks fourth overall in hits (31) and ranks fifth in blocked shots (22).
• Lindell shares seventh among NHL defensemen with a +13 rating. He’s +6 over his past five games combined and has finished with a plus or even rating in 17 of his 21 games this season.
• The Vantaa, Finland native tied his single game high with a +4 rating on Nov. 3 at Arizona.
• Lindell ranks third on the squad in hits (35) and blocked shots (30) and ranks second among Stars defensemen with eight points (2-6—8) in 20 games.
• The 28-year-old matched a career-high with three points (1-2—3) on Nov. 13 at Philadelphia.

ASK ME A QUESTION, I’LL TELL YOU ALL I KNOW

• With a goal on Nov. 15 against Tampa Bay, Joe Pavelski (430) took over sole possession of eighth place all-time in goals among U.S.-born skaters. The only active U.S.-born skater with more is Patrick Kane (433).
• Pavelski has seven multi-point games on the season and 43 since joining the Stars in 2019-20.
• Only two Stars have notched more multi-point games for the franchise than Pavelski over that span: Jason Robertson (48) and Roope Hintz (46)
• Pavelski has points (5-11—16) in 10 of his past 13 games and 13 of 21 overall (9-14—23).
• Through 21 games this season, the Plover, Wisconsin native shares second on the Stars in goals (9), is tied for third in assists (14) and ranks fourth in points (9-14—23). He also leads the club in plus-minus (+16), ranks second in even-strength points (5-11—16) and shares fourth in even-strength goals (5).

RECAPPING DALLAS’ EPIC THIRD-PERIOD COMEBACK VS. CHICAGO

• On Nov. 23 vs. Chicago, the Stars allowed a goal at 9:37 of the third period to fall behind 4-1 but ended up winning 6-4. No other team in NHL history has allowed a goal that late in the game to fall behind by 3+ goals and came back to win in regulation.
• The Stars’ comeback victory over Chicago on Wednesday marked the second time in franchise history (1967-present) the club won a game in regulation after overcoming a three-goal, third-period deficit. The only other such instance was Nov. 29, 1983 vs. Pittsburgh (6-4 W).
• This was, however, the first time in franchise history that the club won a game in regulation after overcoming a three-goal, third-period deficit with under 10 minutes remaining in regulation.
• Dallas erased a 4-1 deficit on goals from Jamie Benn, Mason Marchment and Ty Dellandrea in a span of 3:57. Radek Faksa’s goahead tally (and eventual game winner) came just 4:15 later.
• Prior to Wednesday’s game, the Stars/North Stars had overcome a 3+ goal deficit in the final 10 minutes of regulation and won in three different instances, all in overtime or a shootout: March 30, 2007 at Detroit (max deficit: 3; won 4-3 in a shootout), Oct. 21, 1993 at Ottawa (max deficit: 4; won 6-5 in OT) and Nov. 26, 1983 at Toronto (max deficit: 3; won 7-6 in OT).
• The Stars became the first team to earn a third-goal, third-period comeback win this season

COLORADO AVALANCHE NOTES:

UPCOMING GAMES
Date Opponent Time (MT) TV Radio
Sat, Nov. 26 DALLAS 7 p.m. Altitude 92.5
Tue, Nov. 29 at Winnipeg 6 p.m. Altitude 92.5
Thu, Dec. 1 at Buffalo 5 p.m. Altitude 92.5
Sat, Dec. 3 at Boston 5 p.m. Altitude 92.5
Mon, Dec. 5 at Philadelphia 5 p.m. Altitude 92.5
LAST GAME – Nov. 25 *game postponed
The Avalanche and Predators game at Bridgestone Arena was postponed due to a water main break that significantly impacted the event level at the arena … A makeup date will be announced once it is determined.

PREVIOUS GAME – Nov. 23 (Vancouver 4, Colorado 3 at Ball Arena) Sheldon Dries scored the tie-breaking goal 5:07 into the third period and Ethan Bear tallied the game winner with eight minutes left in regulation to give the Canucks a 4-3 victory over the Avalanche at Ball Arena … Mikko Rantanen scored twice for Colorado and J.T. Compher and Artturi Lehkonen added two assists each.
SF: 36 SA: 25 PP: 2-6 PK: 5-5
• The Avalanche’s power-play scored for the seventh consecutive game while the PK unit has now killed off 12 consecutive penalties
• Cale Makar scored a goal for the third straight game … It was his 54th career goal, passing Jeff Brown (53) for seventh place among franchise defensemen, and his 201st career point, passing Mario Marois (200) for seventh among franchise blueliners in points
• Lehkonen extended his career-long point streak to eight games, the longest run by an Avalanche player in 2022-23 • Rantanen recorded his fourth multi-goal game of the season and the 24th of his career … He now has 178 career markers, moving into a tie with Matt Duchene for ninth place on the franchise’s all-time goals list … Rantanen has a league-best 11 goals and 22 points in eight home games • Oskar Olausson made his NHL debut, recording 7:02 of time on ice

TONIGHT’S GAME
COLORADO vs. DALLAS
7:08 p.m.
Altitude / 92.5
TV: Marc Moser (play-by-play), Mark Rycroft (analyst), Katie Gaus (reporter)
Radio: Conor McGahey
The Colorado Avalanche hosts the Dallas Stars tonight at Ball Arena … This evening’s contest was originally scheduled to be the second half of a back-to-back for Colorado, however yesterday’s game in Nashville was postponed following a water main break at Bridgestone Arena … The Avs are 7-2-0 in their last nine games after starting the year 4-4-1 in their first nine contests … Colorado has the exact same record (11-6-1) as each of the previous two seasons, 2020-21 and 2021-22, and nearly the same from three years ago (11-5-2 in 2019-20).

REVERSE RETRO JERSEY
The Avalanche tonight will debut their adidas Reverse Retro 2022 ADIZERO jerseys … The 2022 Colorado Avalanche Reverse Retro uniform pays tribute to its home state by incorporating colors of the Colorado flag while reintroducing the original jersey design donned in the 1995 inaugural season … The Avs will wear the RR jersey four times this season: tonight, Dec. 11 at St. Louis, Dec. 29 vs. Los Angeles and Jan. 2 vs. Vegas

AVALANCHE & STARS
Tonight is the second of four meetings between these Central Division rivals … The Avs won the first matchup just five days ago in Dallas by a 3-2 final in a shootout … Colorado and Dallas met three times last season, with the Stars winning two of those matchups.
SCHEDULE vs. STARS
Nov. 21 @ DAL (W, 3-2 SO)
Nov. 26 vs. DAL
Mar. 4 @ DAL
Apr. 1 vs. DAL

RECORD VS. STARS
THIS SEASON 2021-22 ALL-TIME SINCE 1995-96 PLAYOFFS
Overall: 1-0-0 Overall: 1-2-0 Overall: 71-55-23 Overall: 48-37-19 Series: 5 (2-3)
Home: 0-0-0 Home: 0-1-0 Home: 42-19-13 Home: 26-14-11 Record: 18-14
Road: 1-0-0 Road: 1-1-0 Road: 29-36-10 Road: 22-23-8

ALL HAIL CALE
Cale Makar recorded his 200th career point on Monday night in Dallas, reaching the milestone faster than any defenseman in NHL history (195th game) … Cale hit the mark in 12 fewer games than Sergei Zubov (207) … Makar is tied for fourth among NHL defensemen in scoring this season with 21 points (6g/15a) in 18 contests … He tallied his 15th career game-winning goal on Nov. 17 at Washington, the most of any defenseman since he made his debut in 2019-20 (Victor Hedman and Justin Faulk are tied for second with 11).

FASTEST DEFENSEMEN TO 200 POINTS
NHL HISTORY
195 GP Cale Makar COL
207 GP Sergei Zubov NYR, PIT
211 GP Brian Leetch NYR
212 GP Phil Housley BUF
212 GP Denis Potvin NYI
216 GP Mark Howe HFD, PHI
216 GP Bobby Orr BOS

YOU GOT LEHKY BABE…..WHEN I FOUND YOU
Artturi Lehkonen has a career-high eight-game point streak (4g/6a), the longest run by an Avalanche player in 2022-23 … Lehky also has points in each of his last five ROAD contests (3g/3a), which is a club season high.

HOME COOKING
Mikko Rantanen has 22 points (11g/11a) in eight home games this season, the most points in the league and tied for the most goals … Mikko’s 2.75 points-per-game average on home ice is by far the highest in the NHL … He has two or more points in all but one of his eight home outings, which includes five 3-point efforts and three 4-point nights …He has a current five-game goal streak on home ice … Mikko was the first skater to reach 20 points in seven or fewer home contests since Mario Lemieux in 1995-96.

SOMEONE SAVED MY LIFE TONIGHT
The Avalanche rankssecond in the NHL in team save percentage at .923, trailing only Boston (.925) … Individually, Alexandar Georgiev ranks third in the league in save percentage with a .929 mark … Colorado’s netminders sit third in the NHL in team goals-against average (2.53).

THAT’S THE POWER OF LOVE
Colorado is the NHL’s top power play team at 34.4% (22-64) … Entering tonight’s contest, the Avs have scored a PPG in a season-high seven consecutive games (9-30, 30.0%) … The club posted a 39.3 success rate (11-28) in October, the second-best mark in a single month since Relocating to Denver behind only November 2018 (40.0%) … The Avalanche’s power play scored at a 32.8% clip during the 2022 playoffs, the highest rate on record (since 1977-78) by an NHL team that played at least 20 games … During the 2021-22 regular season, Colorado finished seventh in power-play percentage (24.0%) and led all teams in power-play goals (67) … It marked the Avalanche’s fourth top-10 finish in the last five seasons.

VIEW TO A KILL
The Avalanche’s PK unit has killed off a season-high 12 straight penalties and has allowed only one power-play goal in the last six games (18/19, 94.7%) .… The Avs’ PK ranks 21st at 77.4% after sitting 30th through games of Nov. 11 at 68.3%.

DROP DEAD GEOR-GIOUS
Alexandar Georgiev is 9-2-1 through his first 12 starts with the Avalanche, ranking sixth in the NHL in wins (9-tied), third in win percentage (.792) and save percentage (.929) and 10th in goals-against average (2.40) … Going back to last year with the Rangers, Georgiev is 17-3-1 in his last 22 games (21 starts).

IT TAKES TWO BABY
Mikko Rantanen leads the Avalanche with 28 points, tied for seventh in the league, while Nathan MacKinnon is right behind him with 27 points, tied for ninth in the circuit … MacKinnon ranks second in the NHL in assists (22) and Rantanen is tied for fifth in goals (13) … Rantanen was named the NHL’s First Star of the Week for Nov. 7-13 after MacKinnon was the NHL’s Second Star the week before from Oct. 31–Nov. 6

JUST CAN’T WAIT TO GET ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Colorado is 7-3-0 on the road this season, 8-3-0 if you include the one “home” game in Finland … The Avs have won a season-high four straight road games … The Avalanche finished a league-best 9-1 on the road during the 2022 postseason, tied for the fewest road losses by a Stanley Cup champion since 1987 (the 2012 Kings and 1995 Devils were both 10-1) … Colorado earned all four series-clinching wins on the road.

GETTING OFFENSIVE
Colorado ranks 10th in the NHL in scoring, averaging 3.44 tallies per game … Colorado averaged a league-best 4.25 goals/game during the 2022 playoffs, the highest by an NHL team that played at least 10 games in a postseason since 1988 (Edmonton 4.67, Detroit 4.31) … The Avalanche finished fourth in the NHL with 308 goals (3.76 per game) during the 2021- 22 regular season, surpassing the 300-mark for only the second time since relocating to Denver (326 in 1995-96).

SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER
The Avs are 4-1-0 on Saturday this season.

SONG SUNG BLUE(LINE)
Colorado’s defensemen have combined for 53 points (11g/42a) this year, third in the NHL behind Vegas (57) and San Jose (58) … The Avs defense produced 64 goals last season, a franchise record and the most by any team since the 1992-93 Capitals (94) … The Avalanche’s blueline also lead all teams in points with a franchise-record 238, the most since the 1995- 96 Red Wings had 240 … Colorado’s defensemen finished with 69 points (18g/51a) during the playoffs, the most by any blueline in a four-round postseason since the 1984-85 Oilers (77).

CLIMBING THE FRANCHISE RECORD BOOKS
Mikko Rantanen is tied with Matt Duchene (178) for ninth place on the franchise goals list … Nathan MacKinnon’s next goal will tie him with Gabriel Landeskog (248) for sixth place on the franchise’s all-time goals list … With 428 career assists, MacKinnon is two behind Milan Hejduk (430) for fifth place.

DAYDREAM BELIEVER
Colorado was originally scheduled for 10 afternoon games this season, which could be reduced to nine depending on the makeup date of the postponed Nashville game from Nov. 25 …. The Avs finished 5-1-0 in day games last year, 3-0-0 at home and 2-1-0 on the road … Colorado is 13-3-1 in day contests since the start of the 2019-20 campaign and 16-3-2 in home afternoon contests since 2017-18.

BACK-TO-BACK
The Avalanche were originally scheduled for 13 back-to-backs but that may be reduced to 12 depending on the makeup date of the Nov. 25th Nashville game that was postponed. … The Avs have played four back-to-backs so far, going 2-2-0 in the first game and 2-2-0 in the second … The Avalanche posted a 15-5-2 (.727) combined record in back-to-back games last season, the second-best mark behind Minnesota (.732, 19-6-3) … The Avs finished 7-3-1 in the first game and 8-2-1 in the second (.773), with only Tampa (10-0-2, .917) posting a better record in the second half of a back-to-back.

FINNISH FIREWORKS
Led by Nathan MacKinnon’s seven combined points (0g/7a) and Mikko Rantanen’s hat trick in the opener, the Avalanche swept the two-game NHL Global Series from the Blue Jackets earlier this month, out-scoring Columbus 11-4 … Colorado’s six goals in the 6-3 opening win set an NHL record for a single game outside of North America while the 11 combined goals were also the most over a two-game overseas series … Rantanen’s hat trick was just the third outside of North America in history, while MacKinnon’s four helpers that first night set a record for the most assists in a single game outside of North America … Alexandar Georgiev started and won both games, allowing four goals 71 shots (2.02 GAA, .944 Sv%) … His two victories already equal the record for career wins in games played overseas … MacKinnon’s seven assists and eight career points (he had one goal in the 2017 Global Series in Sweden) are both records for games played outside North America.

MOST GOALS, GAME, OUTSIDE NORTH AMERICA
6 – Colorado, 2022 Global Series vs. Columbus (Nov. 4, 2022)
5 – Colorado, 2022 Global Series vs. Columbus (Nov. 5, 2022)
5 – Tampa Bay, 2019 Global Series vs. Buffalo (Nov. 9, 2019)
5 – New Jersey, 2018 Global Series vs. Edmonton (Oct. 6, 2018)
5 – Phoenix, 2010 Premiere Series vs. Boston (Oct. 9, 2010)
5 – St. Louis, 2009 Premiere Series vs. Detroit (Oct. 3, 2009)
5 – Calgary, GAME ONe Japan ’98 at San Jose (Oct. 10, 1998)

MOST CAREER POINTS IN GAMES PLAYED OUTSIDE NORTH AMERICA
8 – Nathan MacKinnon (1g/7a)
7 – Patrick Kane (3g/4a)
7 – Dustin Byfuglien (2g/5a)
MOST CAREER ASSISTS IN GAMES PLAYED OUTSIDE NORTH AMERICA
7 – Nathan MacKinnon
5 – Dustin Byfuglien
5 – Blake Wheeler

HAT TRICKS SCORED OUTSIDE NORTH AMERICA
3 – Mikko Rantanen (COL), Nov 4, 2022 vs. Columbus (2022 Global Series)
3 – Patrik Laine (WPG), Nov. 1, 2018 at Florida (2018 Global Series)
3 – Theo Fleury (CGY), Oct. 10, 1998 at San Jose (GAME ONe Japan ’98)

MOST ASSISTS, GAME, OUTSIDE NORTH AMERICA
4 – Nathan MacKinnon (COL) Nov. 4, 2022 vs. Columbus (2022 Global Series)
3 – Dustin Byfuglien (WPG) Nov. 1, 2018 at Florida (2018 Global Series)
3 – Blake Wheeler (WPG), Nov. 1, 2018 at Florida (2018 Global Series)

SCHEDULE NOTES
The Avs will play 26 games against their division foes, meeting Arizona, Dallas, Nashville, St. Louis Winnipeg four times each (two home/away) and Chicago (two home/one away) and Minnesota (one home/two away) three times apiece … Colorado will play 24 games versus the Pacific Division (three times each) and 32 against teams from the Eastern Conference (one home/away).

BEST SINCE 2019-20
The Avalanche are 148-58-20 (.699) since the start of the 2019-20 season, the most wins, points and best points percentage in the NHL … Only Tampa (49) has more playoff wins during that span

MOST WINS SINCE 2019-20 POINTS % SINCE 2019-20 PLAYOFF WINS SINCE 2019-20
Colorado 148 Colorado .699 Tampa Bay 49
Boston 146 Boston .690 Colorado 32
Tampa Bay 142 Carolina .665 NY Islanders 25
Florida 140 Florida .663 Vegas 23
Carolina/Vegas 138 Tampa Bay .662 Montreal 19

MILE HIGH MAINSTAY
Erik Johnson is in his 15th NHL season and 13th with the Avalanche … His 13 seasons rank fourth in franchise history behind only Joe Sakic (20), Adam Foote (17) and Milan Hejduk (14), with Foote the only other defenseman on that list … Johnson is the longest current tenured athlete of any of Denver’s four major sports teams, followed by Gabriel Landeskog and Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon (both 12 seasons).

ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH; AVS WIN STANLEY CUP
The Avalanche won their third Stanley Cup championship in 2022 following 1996 and 2001 … Colorado claimed its title by going 16-4 in the postseason, which included a pair of sweeps and defeating the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Lightning in six games during the Final … The Avs became the sixth team to win a Cup with four or fewer postseason losses since 1987 when the NHL went to four rounds of best-of-seven … And of those six only one team had fewer losses, the 1988 Oilers (two) … The Avalanche did not lose consecutive games all playoffs.

ALL I DO IS WIN WIN WIN NO MATTER WHAT
The 2021-22 Avalanche equaled the NHL record for the most combined regular season/playoff wins with 72 (56 regular season, 16 playoff), a feat only three teams in NHL history had achieved before … The 2021-22 Avalanche joined the 1995-96 Red Wings, 1983-84 Oilers and 1976-77 Canadiens on that list.

TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT
The 2021-22 Avalanche posted their best home season in franchise history with a 32-5-4 record (68 points) … Colorado tied Florida for the league lead in home points, ending with the most home points in the NHL for the second straight season after tying Penguins for league lead with 46 in 2020-21 … The Avs are just the third team over the last 30 years to post the league’s best home record in back-to-back seasons (outright or tie), joining the 2016 and 2017 Capitals and the 2007 and 2008 Red Wings … Colorado went 30-3-3 over its final 36 contests at Ball Arena … The Avs posted an 18-game home winning streak from Nov. 11–Jan. 30, the fifth longest run in NHL history … The club had a franchise record 22-game home point streak (20-0-2) from Oct. 30–Feb. 10, the NHL’s longest since 2013-14 (Anaheim, 20-0-2) … Colorado recently completed its best 60-game home stretch in franchise history going 49-5-6 (.867) from March 10, 2021 to October 19, 2022.

RECORD REGULAR SEASON
The 2021-22 Avalanche set a franchise record with 56 wins and 119 points en route to winning their second straight division title and 11th since moving to Denver (13th in franchise history) … It marked the club’s first back-to-back division championships since their NHL-record run of nine straight from 1994-95 to 2002-03 … The Avs clinched the conference’s top spot despite facing a 10-point deficit behind the No. 1 seed on Dec. 3 … The last team to win their conference after overcoming a deficit of 10 or more points was the Rangers in 2014-15 (13) … After sweeping a back-to-back from Arizona on Jan. 15, the Avalanche remained in first place in the West over the final 106 days of the regular season … During a span of over two months from Feb 10–April 19, Colorado was first in the entire NHL for all but one day (68 out of 69)

WINS, FRANCHISE HISTORY POINTS, FRANCHISE HISTORY
56 2021-22 119 2021-22
52 2000-01 118 2000-01
52 2013-14 112 2013-14

AINT NO MOUNTAIN HIGH, AINT NO VALLEY LOW
Colorado’s Stanley Cup championship came five years after a last-place finish in 2016-17 …. The Avs became the fifth team in the expansion era (1967-68) to win a title within five years of a last place finish and the first since the 2009 Penguins … Colorado won the Presidents’ Trophy the previous year in 2020-21, becoming the first NHL team to go from worst to first overall in four seasons or less since the Bruins in 1970-71.

MAGIC YEAR FOR MAKAR
After becoming the first player in franchise history to win the Norris Trophy in 2021-22, Makar followed that up by winning the 2022 Conn Smythe as playoff MVP … At 23 years, 239 days, he became the youngest defenseman in 52 years to win the Conn Smythe and just the third overall to do so at age 23 or younger, joining Bobby Orr with the 1970 Bruins (22 years, 51 days) and Serge Savard with the 1969 Canadiens (23 years, 102 days) … Makar won the Conn Smythe just five days after receiving his first Norris Trophy … He became the third player to win both awards in the same season, following Orr in 1970 and Nicklas Lidstrom in 2002 … Makar led the Avalanche and all NHL defensemen with 29 points (8g/21a) in 20 games, the fourth-highest total by a defenseman in Stanley Cup Playoff history behind Paul Coffey (37) with the 1985 Oilers, Brian Leetch (34) with the 1994 Rangers and Al MacInnis (31) with the 1989 Flames.

DOWN BUT NEVER OUT
Ten of the Avalanche’s wins during the 2022 postseason were earned in come-from-behind fashion, including four thirdperiod comebacks … Colorado’s 10 comeback wins tied the 2009 Penguins for the most in NHL history … The Avs trailed in all four of their series-clinching victories, the first team in NHL history to do so.

SUPER JOE ACHIEVES RARE FIRST
General Manager (now President) Joe Sakic, who captained the Avalanche to a pair of titles in 1996 and 2001, became the first individual in league history to win a Stanley Cup as a captain and GM with the same organization … He was just the third to win a championship as a player and general manager with the same franchise, joining Serge Savard of the Canadiens and Milt Schmidt of the Bruins.

IN BEDNAR WE TRUST
Jared Bednar is in his seventh season as the Avalanche’s head coach … Hired on Aug. 25, 2016, he is the third-longest tenured coach in the NHL behind Jon Cooper (March 25, 2013) and Mike Sullivan (Dec. 12, 2015) … Jared led the 2021-22 Avalanche to their most successful regular season in franchise history (56-19-7, 119 points) and continued that into the postseason with a 16-4 playoff mark en route to capturing the 2022 Stanley Cup … Bednar, who won a Calder Cup with the Lake Erie Monsters in 2016 and a Kelly Cup with the South Carolina Stingrays in 2009, became the first individual to win a championship in the NHL, AHL and ECHL as a head coach … He is the winningest coach in Avalanche history with a 251-174- 47 (.582) regular season record … Bednar owns a 40-22-1 (.635) record in 63 postseason games, the best playoff winning percentage among active coaches and the third highest all time (min 50 GP) behind Glen Sather (.706) and Toe Blake (.689).

TIP OF CAP
Gabriel Landeskog enters his 12th NHL season and 11th as team captain … Landeskog was the youngest captain in NHL history when he assumed the role at 19 years, 286 days on Sept. 4, 2012, a title he held for four years before Connor McDavid was given the ‘C’ by Edmonton at 19 years, 266 days on Oct. 5, 2016 … Landeskog is the second-longest serving captain in franchise history behind only Joe Sakic (17 seasons, 16 consecutive) … Only three players have been captain of their current teams longer:

Sidney Crosby (PIT) ………………… 16th season (since 2007-08)
Jonathan Toews (CHI) …………….. 15th season (since 2008-09)
Alex Ovechkin (WSH) ……………… 14th season (since 2009-10)
Gabriel Landeskog (COL) …………11th season (since 2012-13)