The Avalanche and Ottawa Senators have something in common heading into Thursday night: both are sitting at 11-6-2. Colorado will have a chance to move to three straight wins when the two teams meet at Canadian Tire Centre, but Ottawa will be looking to make a statement of its own on home ice.
It’s an interesting spot for the Avalanche. They’ve been one of the better teams in this matchup over the years, winning seven of the last eight meetings and outscoring Ottawa 45-24. The Senators did get the last laugh,
though, beating Colorado 5-2 on January 28. The Avs won’t need much reminding of how that one went.
Ottawa is coming off a 3-2 loss to Washington on Tuesday. The Senators had a 2-1 lead before the Capitals tied the game in the third and won it in overtime. Colorado, on the other hand, is coming off a 6-3 win over Toronto. 13 Avalanche players recorded a point in that game, and Gabriel Landeskog scored twice. More importantly, a win Thursday would give Colorado its third consecutive victory.
Colorado Avalanche (11-6-2)
The Opponent: Ottawa Senators (11-6-2)
Time: 5:00 p.m. MST
Watch: ALT, ALT+, ESPN+
Listen: Altitude Sports Radio KKSE-FM 92.5 FM
Colorado Avalanche
There are a few matchups worth watching. Nathan MacKinnon has given Ottawa plenty of trouble, scoring seven goals in his last eight games against the Senators. Cale Makar has 16 points in 11 career meetings with them, and Artturi Lehkonen has 20 points in 28 games. Lehkonen is also leading the Avalanche with 13 goals this season. MacKinnon has on,y scored one goal on the road this season, which might be contributing to those road slow starts for Colorado. No lineup changes are expected, though, defenseman Alex Gagne is an extra on the trip.
Projected Lineup
Artturi Lehkonen — Nathan MacKinnon — Martin Necas
Jaden Schwartz — Brock Nelson — T.J. Hughes
Gabriel Landeskog — Nazem Kadri — Nicolas Roy
Parker Kelly — Fedor Svechkov — Logan O’Connor
Brett Kulak — Cale Makar
Devon Toews — Sam Malinski
Noah Juulsen — Brent Burns
Ottawa Senators
Ottawa has its own offensive leaders to worry about. Tim Stutzle tops the Senators with 23 points, including 14 assists, while Drake Batherson is tied with him for the team lead in goals with nine. Shane Pinto has chipped in seven goals and 14 points.
Projected Lineup
Fabian Zetterlund — Tim Stutzle — Dylan Cozens
Philip Tomasino — Shane Pinto — Drake Batherson
Michael Amadio — Ridly Greig — Claude Giroux
Samuel Blais — Stephen Halliday — Hayden Hodgson
Jake Sanderson — Artem Zub
Thomas Chabot — Jordan Spence
Tyler Kleven — Nikolas Matinpalo
Goaltenders
The goaltending matchup is another storyline. Scott Wedgewood is expected to start for Colorado, bringing a career 5-1-0 record against Ottawa into the game. His 2.85 goals-against average and .916 save percentage against the Senators are solid numbers, although this season has been more difficult. Wedgewood is 1-3-1 with a 4.02 goals-against average and an .867 save percentage.
Linus Ullmark is expected to return for Ottawa after being out since October 21. He was 7-1 with a .945 save percentage before the injury. He has also had decent numbers against Colorado in his career, going 2-1-1 with a 2.64 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage.
The records say these teams are evenly matched, and Thursday should give us a better idea of where they stand against each other. Colorado has been rolling lately and has a chance to keep that going, but Ottawa already showed it can get the better of the Avalanche this season.
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