NHL Preview: St. Louis Blues at Colorado Avalanche

ST. LOUIS BLUES NOTES:

CURRENT INJURIES
Scott Perunovich – Shoulder (Re-evaluated in 6 months, announced on Oct. 4)
Marco Scandella – Right Hip (Re-evaluated in 6 months, announced on Sep. 20)
Logan Brown – Upper-Body (Placed on IR on Nov. 9)
Robert Bortuzzo – Upper-Body (Placed on IR on Nov. 10)
2022-23 Total Man Games Lost: 43

Recent Transactions
November
10 – Placed defenseman Robert Bortuzzo on injured reserve with an upper-body injury
10 – Recalled defenseman Tyler Tucker from the Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL)
9 – Recalled forwards Nikita Alexandrov and Josh Leivo from the Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL)
9 – Placed forward Logan Brown on the injured reserve with an upper-body injury
9 – Assigned forward Jake Neighbours to the Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL)

BLUES VS. AVALANCHE

• This will be the first of 4 matchups between the Blues and Avalanche this season (Dec. 11 in STL / Jan. 28 in COL / Feb. 18 in STL)
• The Blues went 1-2-0 against Colorado last season (1-1-0 at COL / 0-1-0 at STL) (Reg. Season)
• The Avalanche eliminated the Blues in 6 games in the second round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs
• The Blues are 3-2-0 in their last 5 regular season games against Colorado
• The Blues are 1-1-0 in their last 2 games at Colorado (Reg. Season)
• The Blues have scored at least 1 power play goal in 6 of their last 7 regular season games against Colorado, going 7 for 22 (31.8%) on the power play in that span
• In their last 2 games (vs. San Jose / at Vegas), the Blues have not taken a penalty, marking the first time
  in franchise history the Blues have recorded no penalties in consecutive games played
• The last team to go consecutive games without recording a penalty was the Columbus Blue Jackets on Apr. 5 & 6 in 2019

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
11/16 – at Chicago
11/17 – vs. Washington
11/19 – vs. Anaheim
11/21 – vs. Anaheim
11/23 – at Buffalo

FAST STARTS ARE KEY FOR BLUES

• The Blues are 3-1-0 this season when leading after the first period and are 3-0-0 when leading after 2 periods
• Their 3 wins when leading after the first period share 12th in the NHL (1. Boston, 11-0-0) -The Blues are also 5-3-0 this season when scoring first
• Their 5 wins when scoring first shares 11th in the NHL (1. Boston/Vegas, 10)
• They have given up just 8 goals in the first period this season, which shares 3rd in the NHL (1. Dallas, 6)
• The Blues first period goal differential of +2 shares 10th in the NHL (1. Dallas/Vegas, +13)

BLUES CONSISTENT UNDER ARMSTRONG

• Since Doug Armstrong took over the reigns as the Blues General Manager in 2010-11, the Blues have posted a 526-301-99 record
• Their 526 wins since then rank 5th in the NHL (1. PIT, 548)
• The Blues have made the postseason 10 out of the 12 seasons since Armstrong became GM, 1 of 5 teams in the NHL to clinch 10 or more playoff berths since 2010-11 (PIT, 12/WSH, 11/BOS & NSH, 10)
• Armstrong is also just 1 of 2 GMs to clinch 10 or more playoff berths since 2010-11 (David Poile, 10)
• Since 2010-11, the Blues rank 8th with 2.91 goals per game (1. VGK, 3.21) and rank 3rd in the NHL with 2.57 goals against per game (1. BOS, 2.46)
• The Blues also have the 2nd best penalty kill (83.0%) under Armstrong (1. BOS, 83.5%), and share the 5th best power play (20.7%) in the league (1. WSH, 21.5%)

BINNINGTON CHASING BLUES HISTORY

• Jordan Binnington, who has 95 career wins in 172 GP, is just 5 wins shy of becoming the 6th goaltender in franchise history to reach 100 wins as a Blue (Liut/Allen/Joseph/Fuhr/Elliott)
• Binnington is on pace to become the 3rd fastest goaltender to reach 100 wins with the Blues
• Binnington also shares 7th on the Blues all-time franchise list with 11 shutouts, just 1 of 8 goaltenders in franchise history to record at least 11 shutouts

Fastest to 100 career wins with the Blues:

1. Brian Elliott – 175 GP
2. Jake Allen – 176 GP
3. Curtis Joseph – 209 GP

BLUES STAY STRONG UNDER BERUBE

• Since taking over on Nov. 18, 2018, Berube has led the Blues to a 161-89-36 record (358 points)
• The Blues 358 points since Nov. 18, 2018, rank 10th in the NHL (1. TBL, 393), while their 161 wins also rank 10th (1. TBL, 186)
• Their 3.21 goals per game share 9th in the NHL under Berube (1. FLA, 3.52)
• The Blues have posted a mark of 2.82 goals against per game under Berube, which ranks 10th in the NHL (1. BOS, 2.51)
• The Blues also have the 3rd best power play in the NHL at 23.7% since Berube became head coach (1. EDM, 26.8%)
• Last season on Dec. 29 vs. EDM, Berube became the 7th different coach in NHL history to win 200 games and play in at least 1,000 career games

Wins as Coach / Games Played
Craig Berube – 236 / 1,054
Randy Carlyle – 475 / 1,055
Bob Pulford – 363 / 1,079
Craig MacTavish – 301 / 1,093
Red Kelly – 278 / 1,316
Brent Sutter – 215 / 1,111
Larry Robinson – 209 / 1,384

VLADDY CONTINUES HIS HOT PLAY FROM LAST SEASON

• Vladimir Tarasenko has 3 points in his last 5 games (1g, 2a)
• Tarasenko shares 1st on the Blues with 4 goals (Kyrou)
• Tarasenko also ranks 3rd on the Blues with 10 points (4g, 6a) (1. Schenn, 12)
• Tarasenko shares 1st on the Blues with 8 even-strength points (4esg, 4esa) (Faulk/Schenn)
• Tarasenko recorded 3 assists on Oct. 19 in Seattle, including 2 in a span of 17 seconds in the first period
• His 2 assists in 17 seconds marked the fastest 2 assists by a Blues player since Brett Hull on Nov. 14, 1996 (12 seconds)
• Tarasenko posted 48 assists and 82 points (34g) last season, both of which were career-highs
• His 82 points last season were the most in a season by a Blue since Pavol Demitra recorded 93 points (36g, 57a) in 2002-03

FAULK AMONG TOP D-MEN IN THE LEAGUE TO START SEASON

• Justin Faulk ranks 2nd on the Blues with 11 points this season (3g, 8a) (Schenn, 12) -He also ranks 2nd on the team with 8 assists (1. Schenn, 9) and shares 2nd on the Blues with 3 goals (1. Kyrou/Tarasenko, 4)
• Faulk has recorded 7 assists in his last 9 games and has recorded at least 1 point in 8 of the Blues’ 13 games this season
• Faulk posted 10 points (3g, 7a) in his first 9 games of the season, which is the most points he has posted in the first 9 games of the season in his career
• Faulk has also recorded the 14th instance in franchise history of a Blues’ d-man posting at least 10 points in the teams’ first 10 games of the season (Last: Alex Pietrangelo, 12 points (4g, 8a) in 2017-18)
• Faulk shares 12th among all d-men in the NHL with 3 goals (1. Karlsson, 10) and shares 16th among all d-men with 8 assists (1. 3 players with 14)
• Faulk also shares 15th among all d-men in the NHL with 11 points (1. Karlsson, 22)
• His next point will be his 100th as a Blue
• Faulk’s OT goal on Oct. 19 at Seattle was his 3rd overtime goal as a Blue, matching Alex Pietrangelo and Erik Johnson for the most among defensemen in franchise history
• Faulk also has 10 game-winning goals as a Blue, which shares the 6th most among defensemen in franchise history (1. Pietrangelo, 25 / 4. Parayko & Ramage, 11)

BRAYDEN IS SCHENN-SATIONAL

• Brayden Schenn leads the Blues with 12 points this season (3g, 9a)
• He also leads the Blues with 9 assists
• Schenn has an assist in back-to-back games (2a)
• Schenn also has 7 points (2g, 5a) in his last 9 games and has recorded at least 1 point in 9 of the Blues’ 13 games this season
• Schenn recorded 10 points in the first 10 games of the season, matching the 2nd best start of his career in the first 10 games of the season (10 points (6g, 4a) in 2020-21 in first 10 games / 11 points, (8g, 3a) in 2019-20 in first 10 games)
• Schenn leads the Blues this season with 4 power play points (1ppg, 3ppa)
• Schenn has 24 power play goals since the start of the 2019-20 season, which ranks 2nd among all Blues in that span (1. Perron, 26)

THOMAS LOOKING TO BUILD OFF CAREER SEASON

• Robert Thomas has posted 9 points (2g, 7a) this season, which ranks 4th on the Blues
• Thomas has 5 points (2g, 3a) in his last 8 games
• Last season, Thomas set career-highs with 72 games played, 20 goals, 57 assists, and 77 points
• Thomas’s 57 assists last season led the Blues and were the most in a single season by a Blue since Pavol Demitra also recorded 57 assists in 2002-03
• Last season Thomas and Kyrou became the first set of teammates in franchise history to each record 40 assists in the same season prior to turning 24 years old
• They also became the 2nd set of Blues teammates to each record 70+ points in the same season prior to turning 24 (Brian Sutter, 70 points (36g, 34a) & Bernie Federko, 70 points (20g, 50a), in 1978-79)

THE CAPTAIN IS COMING ALIVE

• Ryan O’Reilly recorded 2 points (1g, 1a), including the game-winning goal on Saturday at Vegas
• It was his first game-winning goal of the season and his 13th as a Blue
• O’Reilly has recorded 3 points (2g, 1a) in his last 3 games after just recording 1 point (1g) in his first 10 games of the season
• Saturday at Vegas was O’Reilly’s 300th game as a Blue

ALEXANDROV CALLED UP TO THE NHL

• The Blues recalled forward Nikita Alexandrov, along with forward Josh Leivo, from the Springfield Thunderbirds on Wednesday
• Alexandrov, who was drafted by the Blues in the 2nd round (62nd overall) in 2019, made his NHL debut on Thursday vs. San Jose, recording 2 hits and 2 shots in 9:31 TOI
• Alexandrov has posted 8 points (4g, 4a) in 9 games with Springfield this season, which ranks 4th on the team
• He posted 30 points (12g, 18a) in 67 games with Springfield last season, which was his first full season in the AHL
• He also posted 8 points (2g, 8a) in 18 playoff games last season, helping the Springfield Thunderbirds reach the AHL Calder Cup Finals

TUCKER CALLED UP TO THE NHL

• The Blues also recalled defenseman Tyler Tucker from the Springfield Thunderbirds on Thursday, after placing defenseman Robert Bortuzzo on IR
• Tucker, who was drafted by the Blues in the 7th round (200th overall) in 2018, has yet to make his NHL debut
• Tucker has recorded 7 points (1g, 6a) in 11 games for Springfield this season, which leads Thunderbirds defenseman and shares 5th on the team
• Tucker posted 18 points (3g, 15a) and 114 penalty minutes in 72 games with Springfield (AHL) last season, his first full season in the AHL
• He also posted 2 points (1g, 1a) and 20 penalty minutes in 18 playoff games with Springfield last postseason, helping them reach the AHL Calder Cup Final

COLORADO AVALACHE NOTES:

UPCOMING GAMES
Date Opponent Time (MT) TV Radio
Mon, Nov. 14 ST. LOUIS 7 p.m. Altitude 92.5
Thu, Nov. 17 at Carolina 5 p.m. Altitude 92.5
Sat, Nov. 19 at Washington 5 p.m. Altitude 92.5
Mon, Nov. 21 at Dallas 6:30 p.m. Altitude 92.5
LAST GAME – Nov. 12 (Colorado 4, Carolina 1 at Ball Arena)
Mikko Rantanen had a goal and three assists and Cale Makar scored twice to lead the Avalanche to a 4-1 victory over the Hurricanes at Ball Arena … Nathan MacKinnon added a goal and one assist and Pavel Francouz made 24 saves to pick up his first win of the season
SF: 28 SA: 25 PP: 1-4 PK: 5-5

TONIGHT’S GAME
COLORADO vs. ST. LOUIS
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 wraps up their three-game homestand tonight against the St. Louis Blues at Ball Arena … The Avs are 2-0-0 so far this homestand, beating Nashville 5-3 and Carolina 4-1 … The Avs have won a season-high four straight games, out-scoring the opposition 20-8 … Colorado opens a three-game road trip Thursday in Carolina.

AVALANCHE & BLUES
Tonight is the first of four meetings between the Avalanche and Blues in 2022-23 … They faced off only three times last season, with Colorado winning two of those matchups … These division rivals went on to meet in the second round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, a series the Avalanche won in six games.

SCHEDULE vs. BLUES
Nov. 14 vs. STL
Dec. 11 @ STL
Jan. 28 vs. STL
Feb. 18 @ STL

RECORD VS. BLUES
THIS SEASON 2021-22 ALL-TIME SINCE 1995-96 PLAYOFFS
Overall: 0-0-0 Overall: 2-1-0 Overall: 70-67-18 Overall: 56-42-13 Series (record): 3 series (3-0)
Home: 0-0-0 Home: 1-1-0 Home: 44-25-10 Home: 34-16-7 Record Overall: 13-3-0
Road: 0-0-0 Road: 1-0-0 Road: 26-42-8 Road: 22-26-6

LET’S GO STREAKING
Nathan MacKinnon (1g/12a), Cale Makar (3g/6a), Mikko Rantanen (7g/7a) and Devon Toews (1g/6a) all have current five-game point streaks, with MacKinnon notching two-plus points in all five of those contests … Toews’ five-game run matches his career high done twice before.

IT TAKES TWO BABY
Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen share the team scoring lead with 23 points, tied for fourth in the NHL … MacKinnon’s 19 assists are tied with Leon Draisaitl for the league lead, while Rantanen is tied for fifth in goals … Nathan and Mikko’s 23 points are the most by an Avalanche player through 13 team games since the franchise relocated … The last Nordiques player to have 23 points through 13 contests was Joe Sakic (24) in 1993-94 …. MacKinnon and Peter Stastny (21 in 1983-84) are the only players in Colorado/Quebec history to have 19 assists through 13 team contests.

ALL HAIL CALE
Cale Makar ranks fifth among NHL defensemen in scoring with 16 points (3g/13a) in 13 contests … With 145 career assists, Cale is one behind Rob Blake (146) for the seventh most helpers by a defenseman in franchise history … Makar’s two-goal effort in Saturday’s win over Carolina marked his 50th career multi-point game, passing JohnMichael Liles for the third most by an Avalanche/Nordiques defenseman behind Sandis Ozolinsh (63) and Tyson Barrie (57) … Makar’s first tally on Saturday was his 50th career goal, tied for the fourth-fastest defenseman to reach 50 goals in the modern era (since 1943-44) … His second marker stood as the game winner, his 14th career game-winning goal which leads all defensemen since 2019-20 (Victor Hedman is second with 11) … Makar has 196 career points in 191 career games and is aiming to become the fastest defenseman to reach 200 points in NHL history.

THAT’S THE POWER OF LOVE
Colorado is 16-for-41 (39.0%) so far on the power play, best in the NHL … The club finished with a 39.3 success rate (11-28) in October, the second-best mark in a single month since relocating to Denver (min 5 GP) 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.

HOME COOKING
Mikko Rantanen has 18 points (8g/10a) in six home games this season, tied with Leon Draisaitl for the league lead in home scoring … He has notched three or more points in five of his six outings on home ice, which includes three four-point games

SIMPLY GEOR-GEOUS
Alexandar Georgiev is 7-1-1 through his first nine starts with the Avalanche with a 2.66 goals-against average and .924 save percentage … He is the third goaltender in franchise history with seven wins prior to his 10th appearance with the club, joining Dan Bouchard in 1980-81 (8-1-0 in 9 GP) and Andrew Raycroft in 2008-09 (7-1-0 in 9 GP) … Alex’s seven wins are tied for fourth in the NHL … Going back to last year with the Rangers, Georgiev is 15-2-1 in his last 19 games (18 starts).

GETTING OFFENSIVE
Colorado ranks third in the NHL in scoring at 3.69 tallies per game, which includes four-plus goals in all four games of this current win streak (20 total) … The Avs set a record for the most goals in a two-game Global Series with 11 in Finland against the Blue Jackets earlier this month … 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).

D-LIGHTFUL
Colorado’s defensemen have combined for 41 points (8g/33a) this year, topsin the NHL … 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).

HOCKEY FIGHTS CANCER
Saturday was the Avalanche’s annual “Hockey Fights Cancer” night at Ball Arena … After beating Carolina 4-1 the Avs improved to 10-3-1 all-time on their HFC night.
Oct. 7, 2007 vs. SJS (W, 6-2)
Oct. 25, 2008 vs. BUF (W, 2-1 SO)
Oct. 23, 2009 vs. CAR (W, 5-4)
Oct. 21, 2010 vs. SJS (L, 2-4)
Oct. 20, 2011 vs. CHI (L, 1-3)
Oct. 15, 2013 vs. DAL (W, 3-2)
Nov. 6, 2014 vs. TOR (W, 4-3 SO)
Nov. 3, 2015 vs CGY (W, 6-3)
Nov. 5, 2016 vs. MIN (W, 1-0)
Nov. 2, 2017 vs. CAR (W, 6-3)
Nov. 16, 2018 vs. WSH (O, 2-3)
Nov. 23, 2019 vs. TOR (L, 3-5)
Nov. 13, 2021 vs. SJS (W, 6-2)
Nov. 12, 2022 vs. CAR. (W, 4-1)
CLIMBING THE FRANCHISE RECORD BOOKS
Nathan MacKinnon appeared in his 651st career regular-season game on Saturday against Carolina, passing Anton Stastny (650) for sole possession of 10th place on the franchise’s all-time games played list … 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 … 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.

SECOND STAR OF WEEK
Nathan MacKinnon was named the NHL’s Second Star of the Week for Oct. 31–Nov. 6 … He led all skaters with seven assists in the two-game Global Series sweep of the Blue Jackets in Finland … This marks the eighth time in his career that Nathan has been named one of the NHL’s weekly stars.

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 NHL 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 just 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 NHL records for games played outside North America

BACK-TO-BACK
The Avalanche have played four of their 13 back-to-back games 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 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.

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 145-56-20 (.701) 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 145 Colorado .701 Tampa Bay 49
Boston 142 Boston .688 Colorado 32
Florida 138 Carolina .670 NY Islanders 25
Tampa Bay 138 Florida .667 Vegas 23
Carolina 137 Tampa Bay .659 Montreal 19

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 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.

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

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 backto-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 248-172-47 (.581) 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).

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)

2022-23 AVALANCHE TRANSACTIONS
Nov. 10 – Shane Bowers recalled from the Colorado Eagles (AHL)
Nov. 12 – Jayson Megna recalled from the Colorado Eagles (AHL) … Gabriel Landeskog placed on LTIR … Jayson Megna,
Sampo Ranta reassigned to the Colorado Eagles (AHL)
Nov. 13 – Andreas Englund recalled from the Colorado Eagles (AHL) … Shane Bowers placed on IR (retroactive to Nov. 12)
Nov. 14 – Jayson Megna, Sampo Ranta recalled from the Colorado Eagles (AHL)