The faltering Ottawa Senators (33-30-4) play host to the Colorado Avalanche (38-22-6), who will be looking to add to their winning run, at Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday. Colorado is playing on back-to-back days after earning a 2-1 shootout win over the Maple Leafs yesterday, their third consecutive win.
The Avalanche took advantage of their power play opportunities, scoring once on five shots while holding Toronto without a power play goal. Mikko Rantanen scored the only goal for the Avalanche.
Alexandar Georgiev had a great performance with 17 saves (.944%) in the win. Ottawa dropped their third in a row, falling 6-3 to the Oilers on Tuesday. Tim Stuetzle scored twice to lead the Senators. Mads Sogaard only had 27 saves on 32 shots against (.843%) in the loss.
HEAD TO HEAD
The Avalanche won the first meeting between the teams this season, a 7-0 victory in January. Artturi Lehkonen and Alex Newhook each had three points (2G 1A) to lead Colorado. Pavel Francouz saved 29 shots to earn the shutout win.
FACING OFF
Colorado is averaging 3.20 goals per game for the season, 16th in the NHL, and they are taking on a Senators team that is allowing 3.25 goals a game (20th). Meanwhile, Ottawa has found the net 3.10 times a game on average, 17th in the league, and the Avalanche are allowing opponents to score 2.77 goals per game (9th).
Don’t be surprised to see multiple power play opportunities for the Avalanche, as the Senators have been penalized 4.69 times a game, second-most in the NHL, for an average of 11.78 minutes (third-highest). The visitors are averaging 3.74 penalties (14th) and 8.56 penalty minutes a game (17th).
The Avalanche’s 24.17% power play percentage ranks sixth in the league, while the Senators are eighth with a conversion rate of 23.41%. Ottawa has been more adept at penalty killing, boasting the league’s third-highest PK% at 83.20%. Colorado ranks 18th at 79.10%.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Nathan MacKinnon (82 points), Rantanen (79), and Cale Makar (56) have been the top skaters this season for the Avalanche. Rantanen is among the league leaders with his 44 goals (3rd), while MacKinnon is among the league leaders with his 53 assists (9th).
Makar has been another top player for Colorado, scoring 15 and assisting 41. In the net, Francouz (7-7-1) is Colorado’s top goaltender by goals against average. He has a 2.53 GAA and a .919% save percentage. Georgiev (30-14-5) leads the Avalanche in games played in goal.
He has a GAA of 2.61 and a save percentage of .916%.Stuetzle and Brady Tkachuk lead the Senators in scoring with 73 and 67 points, respectively. Stuetzle has 34 goals and 39 assists in 63 games, while Tkachuk has 27 goals and 40 assists. Cam Talbot (15-14-1) has the best goals against average for Ottawa at 2.85. He has a save percentage of .905%.
HOME AND AWAY
Colorado is 20-11-1 on the road this season. Ottawa is pursuing a fifth successive home win this season. Meanwhile, the Avalanche are 6-3 without a day off and 5-1 playing with a rest disadvantage. The Senators are 5-0 with a rest advantage.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
Colorado Avalanche (-130)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
