Avalanche at Senators
THE STORY: The Colorado Avalanche look to remain perfect on their season-high five-game road trip when they take on the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place on Thursday. Colorado has posted one-goal victories at Boston and Columbus on its trek thus far, needing a shootout to top the Blue Jackets on Wednesday. The Avalanche have won each of their last four meetings with Ottawa, with all four victories coming by one tally and two occurring in overtime. The Senators have not defeated Colorado since posting a 6-2 triumph at the Pepsi Center in Denver on Dec. 12, 2005. However, the Avalanche are just 2-5-1 in their last eight visits to Canada's capital. Ottawa has won six of its last seven home contests. Colorado (0-for-10) is one of seven teams without a power-play goal but is also one of six clubs yet to allow a man-advantage tally, going 10-for-10 on the penalty kill.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, Altitude, Rogers Sportsnet East
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (2-1-0): Colorado's offseason acquisition of goaltender Semyon Varlamov looks great after one week. Varlamov has allowed a total of four goals in going 2-1 and has been named first star of the game in each victory and third star in the loss. Gabriel Landeskog will never forget his first NHL goal. Selected second overall in the 2011 draft, the 18-year old Landeskog deflected defenseman Jan Hejda's left-point shot past Columbus' Steve Mason with 41 seconds remaining in the third period Wednesday to forge a 2-2 tie and earn Colorado a point.
ABOUT THE SENATORS (1-2-0): Defenseman Erik Karlsson, who was second on the team with 45 points last season, tops the club after three games with five points - all assists. Craig Anderson is hoping to stick it to his former team. Anderson was traded by Colorado to Ottawa on Feb. 18 and proceeded to go 11-5-1 with a 2.05 goals-against average and .939 save percentage for the Senators. The 30-year old posted a 13-15-3 record and 3.28 GAA in 33 games with the Avalanche prior to the deal.
OVERTIME:
1. While Colorado has been involved in defensive battles, offense has been the theme of Ottawa's contests. The Avalanche have scored three goals and allowed five in three games, while the Senators have tallied 11 times and yielded 14 goals over three matches.
2. Ottawa won just twice in seven shootout affairs last season. It's halfway toward matching that win total after scoring on all three of its opportunities in the bonus format against Minnesota's Niklas Backstrom on Tuesday.