The streaking Colorado Avalanche will look to pick up their fifth straight win when they open a three-game road trip with a meeting with the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night in Tempe, Ariz.
Colorado has won seven of its past eight games, averaging 4.6 goals per outing. Monday night, the Avalanche beat the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning 4-1.
Ryan Johansen scored twice, Cale Makar had a goal and an assist, and Alexandar Georgiev made 38 saves for Colorado.
“I liked our game. We had a couple of big breakdowns that I didn’t like, but for the most part I felt like we were checking and doing the right things and playing hard,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “They got something to say about it, but I liked our game on both sides of the puck.”
Colorado went 1-for-5 on the power play while killing all three Lightning chances with the man advantage. The Avalanche have scored on the power play in eight straight games.
“It’s a huge part of winning,” Bednar said. “When you’re getting quality saves and quality starts from your goaltenders and when you’re checking hard and you’re producing enough offense, it often comes down to special teams. If we’re winning that battle, you’re going to give yourself a chance to win.”
Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon had two assists to extend his season-opening home point streak to 10 games (five goals, 13 assists).
Coincidentally, the Coyotes also come into Thursday night off a win against the Lightning, though theirs was by a 3-1 margin Tuesday in the opener of a five-game homestand.
Michael Carcone scored twice, and Connor Ingram made 30 saves and had an assist. Travis Boyd scored, and Alex Kerfoot had two assists for the Coyotes, who have won two consecutive games after losing three straight.
Arizona is in the midst of a unique streak, playing six straight games against recent Stanley Cup winners. After losing to the St. Louis Blues, the Coyotes defeated the Vegas Golden Knights and the Lightning. Still ahead after the Avalanche are the Blues again and then the Washington Capitals.
Carcone, whose second goal of the game on Tuesday made it 3-1 early in the third period, has three goals and an assist in his past three games.
“He’s improving, he has more commitment defensively,” Arizona coach Andre Tourigny said of Carcone. “He’s way more responsible with the puck. I’m happy for him because he’s made some sacrifices with the puck and he’s still getting rewarded. So, that’s a good message for him.”
Like Colorado, special teams play has also provided a boost for the Coyotes, who have killed off 18 straight penalties over six games. In early November, Arizona ranked 25th in kill rate, but its recent surge has it at 81.3 percent, good for 13th in the league entering play Wednesday.
“We haven’t changed anything, but the players are more urgent, more used to it, and they take a lot of pride in it,” Tourigny said. “I see a lot of urgency. There’s a lot of ownership. Our guys who play PK right now, we’ve shortened our bench, and those guys take extreme ownership.”
Arizona and Colorado are meeting for the first time this season Thursday.
–Field Level Media
