Avalanche at Canucks
The Colorado Avalanche look to extend their franchise-record road winning streak to 10 games and post their NHL-best 24th victory away from home on Friday when they visit the Vancouver Canucks. The Avalanche even pushed their point streak to a season high-tying nine contests (7-0-2) after their 4-3 overtime loss to Anaheim on Wednesday.
Nathan MacKinnon, who scored and set up a goal against the Ducks, capped a two-goal, three-point performance on Nov. 16 after converting 27 seconds into overtime in Colorado's 5-4 victory over Vancouver. Captain Gabriel Landeskog recorded his first three-point performance of the season on Wednesday and carries a six-game point streak (three goals, five assists) into Friday's contest. While MacKinnon and Landeskog have helped the Avalanche ascend to within two points of first-place St. Louis in both the Central Division and Western Conference, the Canucks failed to hold a lead and dropped their fourth in a row to lose ground in the top-heavy Pacific. "It doesn't feel good to lose, especially against a team in our division," Canucks forward Bo Horvat said following a 4-2 loss to Arizona on Wednesday. "There is a lot of hockey left to play. We have to shake it off."
TIME: 10 p.m. ET. TV: Altitude, Sportsnet Pacific
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (40-18-8): Tyson Jost boosted his point total to six (two goals, four assists) in his last five outings and matched a career high with 15 assists after setting up a pair of tallies on Wednesday. Fellow forward Vladislav Namestnikov scored his second goal in as many contests and has three points (two goals, one assist) in five games since being acquired from Ottawa on Feb. 24. Defenseman Samuel Girard has recorded five points (one goal, four assists) in his last five contests.
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (34-26-6): Vancouver was left shaking its head after surrendering a third-period lead for the second time in as many contests on Wednesday. "We are kind of shooting ourselves in the foot," forward Tanner Pearson said. "We need to do the opposite. We need to put our foot down and stomp on their throats." J.T. Miller has been putting his foot down on opposing teams after recording 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in his past seven games.
OVERTIME
1. Vancouver C Adam Gaudette tallied twice in the first encounter with Colorado.
2. The Avalanche have killed off 24 consecutive short-handed situations over their last 10 contests.
3. Canucks D Quinn Hughes has recorded 13 of his club-best 44 assists in the last 12 games.