Flames at Avalanche
The Calgary Flames ran roughshod during Bill Peters' first season behind the bench in 2018-19, amassing a Western Conference-best 107 points before seeing their good fortune come to a screeching halt at the hands of the red-hot Colorado Avalanche. The Flames aim to avenge their first-round series loss on Thursday when they visit the Avalanche in Denver.
Speedy superstar Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan and Elias Lindholm comprised a top-heavy line in Calgary that combined to record 259 points (97 goals, 162 assists) while captain Mark Giordano, now 36, defied Father Time by registering an NHL-best plus-39 rating and averaging more than 24 minutes per game to claim the Norris Trophy. David Rittich looks to recapture the magic that saw him post a sizzling 20-4-4 mark in his first 31 games last season before his pedestrian numbers down the stretch relegated him to a backup role behind the departed Mike Smith. Much like the Flames, the Avalanche received significant production from their top line as Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and captain Gabriel Landeskog combined to collect 261 points (106 goals, 155 assists). Rantanen, who signed a six-year, $55.5 million contract extension on Saturday, joined MacKinnon in bolting out of the blocks with nine-game point streaks to start the season in 2018-19.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, Sportsnet West (Calgary), Altitude (Colorado)
ABOUT THE FLAMES (2018-19: 50-25-7, 1ST IN PACIFIC): Restricted free-agent forward Matthew Tkachuk followed up his 34-goal, 77-point campaign by signing a three-year, $21 million contract during the last week of training camp. "I would've liked to be here a little bit earlier, but I'm here and it's an exciting time to be a Calgary Flame," the 21-year-old Tkachuk said. "We were a 100-point team last year in the regular season and basically everybody's back." Calgary essentially swapped a pair of players with Alberta rival Edmonton in the offseason, acquiring Milan Lucic for fellow struggling forward James Neal, while goaltender Cam Talbot is now with the Flames and Smith found his way to the Oilers in an indirect move.
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (2018-19: 38-30-14, 5TH IN CENTRAL): Nazem Kadri and Andre Burakovsky were acquired from Toronto and Washington, respectively, and fellow forward Joonas Donskoi signed as a free agent to provide an added jolt to Colorado's offense. While the additions are welcome, the Avalanche must deal with the subtraction of Tyson Barrie after the offensive-minded defenseman was shuffled to the Maple Leafs as part of the Kadri deal. Philipp Grubauer, who has spent his NHL career primarily as a backup, will look to improve upon his career-high 18-win performance in 2018-19 when he assumes the starting role with Semyon Varlamov now playing for the New York Islanders.
OVERTIME
1. Colorado D Cale Makar followed up his Hobey Baker-winning season by scoring a goal and setting up five others during 10 postseason games in the spring.
2. Tkachuk tallied twice against the Avalanche in the playoffs after recording four points (one goal, three assists) in three games during the season series.
3. MacKinnon erupted for 10 points (five goals, five assists) in seven games against Calgary in 2018-19 -- including postseason.