COLORADO AVALANCHE NOTES:
UPCOMING GAMES
Date Opponent Time (MT) TV Radio
Fri, Oct. 28 at New Jersey 5 p.m. Altitude 2 950 AM
Sat, Oct. 29 at NY Islanders 5:30 p.m. Altitude 92.5
Fri, Nov. 4 *COLUMBUS Noon Altitude 92.5
Sat, Nov. 5 *at Columbus Noon Altitude 92.5
- – In Tampere Finland (NHL Global Series)
LAST GAME – Oct. 25 (Colorado 3, New York Rangers 2 in shootout)
Alexandar Georgiev made 44 saves and stopped three-of-four shootout attempts to give the Avalanche a 3-2 victory over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden …Valeri Nichushkin scored a power-play goal, Logan O’Connor added a shorthanded tally and Evan Rodrigues potted the shootout winner.
SF: 44 SA: 46 PP: 1-3 PK: 4-4
TONIGHT’S GAME
COLORADO @ NEW JERSEY
5:08 p.m. MT / 7:08 p.m. ET
Altitude / 950 AM
TV: Marc Moser (play-by-play), Mark Rycroft (analyst), Kyle Keefe (reporter)
Radio: Conor McGahey
The Colorado Avalanche continues its two-week road trip tonight in New Jersey against the Devils … Tonight is the first half of a back-to-back for the Avs, who play in Long Island tomorrow … The club will depart Sunday night for Finland where they will meet the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2022 Global Series.
BACK-TO-BACK
The Avs are playing their third of 13 back-to-back games as they face the Devils tonight and Islanders tomorrow night … Colorado has split its first two back to backs, going 1-1-0 in the first game and 1-1-0 in the second … The Avalanche posted a 15-5-2 (.727) combined record in back-to-back games last season, the second-best mark in the NHL behind only 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.
I HEAR THE TRAIN A COMING, IT’S ROLLING ROUND THE BEND….
Valeri Nichushkin leads the team with seven goals and 12 points (7g/5a) in seven games … Val and Nathan MacKinnon in 2018-19 (also seven) are the only Avalanche players to score seven goals in the first seven team games of the season … MacKinnon had eight goals through eight contests that year … Val has scored in all four ROAD games this year, one shy of tying the franchise record set by Mikko Rantanen in 2020-21 when he tallied in Colorado’s first five road contests … Val scored a goal in each of the first four games, a career long goal streak and tied for the thirdlongest streak to begin a season in franchise history behind MacKinnon (six games in 2018-19) and Mats Sundin (five games in 1992-93)
CLIMBING THE FRANCHISE RECORD BOOKS
Erik Johnson played his 660th game as a member of the Avalanche on Oct. 22 in Las Vegas, passing Cody McLeod (659) for eighth place on the franchise’s all-time games played list … Samuel Girard picked up one assist in that game against the Golden Knights, breaking a tie with Alexei Gusarov (121) for sole possession of ninth place among Avalanche/Nordiques defensemen in career helpers … With a pair of goals on Oct. 19, Mikko Rantanen passed Alex Tanguay (167) for 10th place on the franchise’s all-time goals list … Cale Makar has 47 career multi-point games, tied with Rob Blake for the fourth most by a defenseman in franchise history.
THAT’S THE POWER OF LOVE
Colorado is 10-for-20 (50%) so far on the power play, best in the NHL … The 10 power-play goals is tied for the third most through six games since relocating to Denver, behind only the 2005-06 (12) and 2020-21 (11) teams … 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 top10 finish in the last five seasons.
FINLAND BOUND SOON
The Avalanche will contest a pair of games in Tampere, Finland against the Columbus Blue Jackets as part of the NHL Global Series on Nov. 4-5 … This will be the second time that Colorado has played regular season games in Europe, as the club faced the Ottawa Senators in the 2017 NHL Global Series in Stockholm, Sweden.
AVALANCHE & DEVILS
Tonight is the first of two meetings between the Avalanche and Devils.
ALL-TIME SERIES
2022-23: first meeting
Last Season: 1-1-0
Home: 1-0-0
Away: 0-1-0
All-Time: 47-38-1
H: 27-15-4
A: 20-23-4
Since ’95-96: 21-15-4
H: 13-6-1
A: 8-9-3
SCHEDULE
Oct. 28 @ NJD
Mar. 1 vs. NJD
HIT PARADE
As of Thursday, the Avalanche ranked sixth in the league in hits this season with 197 … The Avalanche had a season-high 38 hits on Oct. 22 in Vegas after recording 37 the night before at home against Seattle … It marked the first time that Colorado had produced 37 or more hits in consecutive games since Dec. 27-29, 2013 … The Avs had 42 on Dec. 27, 2013 at Chicago and 46 on Dec. 29, 2013 vs. Winnipeg
BEST SINCE 2019-20
The Avalanche are 141-54-20 (.702) 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 141 Colorado .702 Tampa Bay 49
Florida 134 Boston .679 Colorado 32
Boston 134 Carolina .675 NY Islanders 25
Tampa Bay 134 Florida .673 Vegas 23
Carolina 132 Tampa Bay .660 Montreal 19
GETTING OFFENSIVE
Colorado averaged a league-best 4.25 goals/game during the 2022 playoffs, the highest by an team that played at least 10 games in a postseason since 1987-88 (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) … The Avs had four 80-point scorers, most in the NHL and tied for the most in franchise history (1981-82 Nordiques) … Colorado had seven 20-goal scorers, second in the NHL (St. Louis, nine) and the club’s most 20-goal scorers since relocating to Denver.
D-LIGHTFUL
Colorado’s defensemen have combined for 21 points (4g/17a) this year, most in the NHL as of Thursday … 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).
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).
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
TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT
The 2021-22 Avalanche finished 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 last 36 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.
ALL I DO IS WIN WIN WIN NO MATTER WHAT
The 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
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
ROAD, SWEET ROAD
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, including Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final in Tampa Bay … Colorado won its first seven away games to start these playoffs, matching its longest road playoff winning streak in franchise history (1999) and equaling the second longest such streak in NHL history
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
DOWN BUT NEVER OUT
Ten of the Avalanche’s wins during the 2022 postseason were earned in come-from-behind fashion, including four third-period 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
MAGIC YEAR FOR MAKAR
After becoming the first player in franchise history to win the Norris Trophy, Makar followed that up by winning the 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 … Only Paul Coffey (37) with the 1985 Oilers, Brian Leetch (34) with the 1994 Rangers and Al MacInnis (31) with the 1989 Flames had more.
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 beginning 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 244-170-47 (.580) 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), Toe Blake (.689).
NEW JERSEY DEVILS NOTES:
LAST GAME
New Jersey Devils 6 Detroit Red Wings 2
(4-3-0—8 PTS) (3-1-2—6 PTS)
Three Stars: 1. J. Bratt 2. J. Hughes 3. R. Graves
SCORE 1
ST 2
ND 3
RD OT SO FINAL
Detroit 1 0 1 – – 2
DEVILS 2 2 2 – – 6
Goals:
DET: D. Larkin, D. Kubalik
NJD: D. Mercer, J. Hughes, J. Bratt (2, 1 PPG), Y. Sharangovich (1 SHG), N. Hischier
INJURIES/ILLNESS
PLAYER INJURY OUT SINCE GAMES MISSED
Jonathan Bernier – LTIR Lower-body, hip 2021-22 7
Ondrej Palat Lower-body Oct. 25 1
2022-23 Total Man-Games Lost to Injury/illness: 13
DATE PLAYER ACTION
10/17 Tyce Thompson Activated off I.R./Assigned to Utica (AHL) Friday night lights…the Devils host their first Friday night contest for the 2022-23 season and against the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche.
Jersey’s team recorded a 1-1-0 record vs Colorado last season, while earning a 5-3 victory at the Rock on Mar. 8, 2022. New Jersey also scored five unanswered goals after trailing the Avs 3-0.
The last time Colorado won a game at New Jersey was Jan. 4, 2020, after a 5-2 win over the Devils.
The Devils and Colorado face-off twice again this season:
Wed. Mar. 1, 2023, at COL, 9:00 P.M.
The Devils haven’t allowed more than 25 shots against in a game this season, and enter Friday’s contest ranked first in shots against, per game at 21.4.
Since 1994-95, the franchise’s first Stanley Cup championship, the Devils have finished a season averaging under 25 shots against, per game seven times:
23.7 1997-98
24.7 1998-99
24.7 2000-01
23.2 2001-02
23.6 2002-03
24.4 2003-04
23.1 2012-13
The team clinched a playoff berth in six of those seasons, while winning a Stanley Cup championship in 2002-03, plus advancing to the Stanley Cup final in 2000-01. The team didn’t clinch a playoff berth in the shortened (lockout year) in 2012-13. As of Oct. 27, New Jersey’s shots per game total entering tonight’s contest vs Colorado is 39.7, which ranks 1st in the NHL. Pittsburgh is second at 38.1, per Oct. 27.
Since 1994-95, the team’s highest shots per game total is 33.1, which was earned in 1999-00. The team then won its second Stanley Cup championship.
The Devils are set to wear their alternate sweaters for the second time this season. The team last wore the alternates vs Anaheim on October 18 in a 4-2 win at the Rock.
Jersey’s team is fresh off recording a power-play goal and shorthanded goal in a game for the first time this season via Oct. 25th at Detroit. The team accomplished that feat three times lasts season, last: Mar. 8, 2022, vs COL.
Yegor Sharangovich also earned the shorthanded tally on Mar. 8, vs Colorado. Keep in mind, No. 17 earned his fourth career
shorthanded goal on Tuesday in the win at Detroit.
The Devils officially announced and revealed their second-ever Adidas Reverse Retro sweater on Thursday, which turns back the clock and nods to the franchise’s Colorado roots. Side note…On Oct. 12, 2022, Andy Greene officially signed a one-day contract and retired as a Devil. The Trenton, Michigan native’s 923 regular-season games played ranks seventh all-time in franchise history, and third all-time for defensemen in franchise history.
The Devils record on Fridays in 2021-22…2-6-1…home: 2-6-1
Record in night games in 2022-23…3-3-0…home…1-2-0
Tonight’s contest marks the team’s first game vs a Central Division opponent.
2022-23 Alternate jersey record…1-0-0
Alternate Jersey schedule:
DATE/TIME OPPONENT RESULT
Oct. 18, 7:00 P.M. vs ANA 4-2, W
Oct 28, 7:00 P.M. vs COL
Dec. 6, 7:00 P.M. vs CHI
Dec. 13, 7:00 P.M. vs DAL
Jan. 1, 3:00 P.M. Vs CAR
Jan. 5, 7:00 P.M. Vs STL
Feb. 6, 7:30 P.M. Vs VAN
Feb. 21, 7:00 P.M. Vs MTL
Mar. 30, 7:00 P.M. Vs NYR
Apr. 11, 7:00 P.M. HOME FINALE Vs BUF
AROUND THE RINK
The Devils host their first Hockey Is For Everyone game as we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Night presented by Hijole during this Friday night’s matchup vs Colorado.
VS COLORADO
The last time the Devils won a season series vs Colorado was 2017-18, after posting a 2-0-0 record vs the Avs.
ALL-TIME vs COLORADO/QUEBEC
Record: 39-43-8-4
Home: 24-18-4-2
Road: 15-25-4-2
Points Leader: Aaron Broten…7g-20a=27 PTS, 24 GP
Goaltender Wins: Martin Brodeur…17-8-5-1
DID YOU KNOW…
The most goals in franchise history earned in a single game vs the Avs/QUE was nine goals, twice, (vs QUE), last, Mar. 10, 1990, in a 9-3 win.
The most goals that the Devils allowed in a single game vs the Avs/QUE is nine, which happened on Dec. 14, 1985, after a 9-3 defeat at Quebec.
The most shots that Jersey earned in a single game vs Colorado is 43, after a 3-2 loss on Oct. 15, 2010, at the Rock.
The most shots that the Devils allowed in a single game vs the Avs/QUE is 43, on Jan. 29, 1983, at Quebec in a 6-4 loss.
The last time the Devils shut out the Avs was on Mar. 15, 2012, in a 1-0 shootout win at the Rock.
The last time the Avs shut out the Devils was on Mar. 17, 2019, in a 3-0 loss at Colorado.
DHN QUIZ QUESTION
The Devils reacquired Claude Lemieux from Colorado at the start of the 1999-00 season in exchange for which former Devils forward?
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Sun, Oct., 30 vs CBJ, 2:00 P.M.
Tues., Nov., 1, at VAN, 10:00 P.M
Thur., Nov. 3, at EDM, 9:00 P.M.
Sat. Nov. 5, at CGY, 10:00 P.M.
Tue., Nov. 8, vs CGY, 7:00 P.M.
LAST TRADE
The last time the Devils and Colorado executed trade was on July 15, 2021, when the Devils dealt Mikhail Maltsev & a 2021 2nd -round draft pick in exchange for blueliner Ryan Graves.
