Senators at Avalanche
Seven members of the Colorado Avalanche and Ottawa Senators will have a chance to play an NHL regular-season game in their home country on Friday when the 2017 SAP NHL Global Series begins in Stockholm, Sweden. Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog joins countrymen Anton Lindholm, Carl Soderberg and Patrik Nemeth while Senators captain Erik Karlsson is flanked by Frederik Claesson and Johnny Oduya in the two-game series at the Ericsson Globe.
"The fact that I'm an NHL player doesn't change how things look for me or just the fact of being back. Coming home is a great feeling every time. ... I've been looking forward to this for a long time," Landeskog said. The 24-year-old Stockholm native, who has six points (three goals, three assists) in his last six contests, scored and set up a goal on Sunday as Colorado saw its three-game winning streak halted with a 6-4 setback at the New York Islanders. Like his countryman, Karlsson is riding an offensive wave as his first goal of the season in Saturday's 5-4 setback to Vegas accounted for his 13th point in eight games (one goal, 12 assists). The two-time Norris Trophy winner and native of Landsbro has lit up the Avalanche to the tune of 11 points (one goal, 10 assists) in 10 career encounters.
TV: 2 p.m. ET, NHL Network, TSN5, RDS (Ottawa), Altitude (Colorado)
ABOUT THE SENATORS (6-3-5): Matt Duchene won't have to wait long to see his former mates, as the Avalanche's third overall pick in the 2009 draft was acquired by Ottawa in a blockbuster three-team deal Sunday that saw the Senators send fellow forward Kyle Turris to Nashville. "It's great. It's going to be weird playing against my old team, but I think getting it done right away is a good thing. You don't have time to overthink it," Duchene told the Toronto Sun. Duchene, who ranks fourth in all-time Avalanche goals and sixth in points, has centered a line with Mike Hoffman and Zack Smith in practice.
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (8-6-0): Defenseman Tyson Barrie has set up a pair of goals in back-to-back outings and has six of his team-best 12 assists in his last four games. The 26-year-old Barrie has a club high-tying 14 points to match Nathan MacKinnon, who scored and set up a goal versus the Islanders for his fourth consecutive multi-point performance (three goals, six assists). The top overall pick of the 2013 draft, MacKinnon has collected seven points (two goals, five assists) in eight career encounters versus the Senators.
OVERTIME
1. The weekend's two contests in Sweden will be the 21st and 22nd NHL regular-season games played in Europe.
2. Colorado D Erik Johnson is the lone player on his team to have played in an NHL regular-season game overseas, having done so in Stockholm in 2009 with St. Louis.
3. Ottawa G Craig Anderson has dropped four of his last seven starts, yielding 27 goals in the process.