Colorado Avalanche: Keys to the Game vs Anaheim Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks are visiting the Colorado Avalanche for their first of a three-game series.
The Colorado Avalanche host the Anaheim Ducks for their first of three meetings this season. It’s the second home game for the Avalanche, and the first game of a back-to-back set.
Colorado is coming into this meeting pretty toasty. They’ve gone 3-1-0 in their four contests, even sweeping the Boston Bruins series. They’re coming off of a thrilling 6-3 home opening win.
The Anaheim Ducks are coming in off a 3-2 victory against the New York Islanders at home. The Ducks are 2-1-1 in their first four contests, having lost to the Calgary Flames in regulation on Monday and to the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime on Saturday.
The Avalanche and Ducks are Western Conference rivals. The Avs have faced the Anaheim Ducks (née Mighty Ducks) 87 times. They have a slight edge in the record — 37-34-9-7(ties). However, the Ducks have outscored the Avalanche 243 to 226.
Last season the Ducks swept the series.
How to Enjoy the Game
Game time: October 13, 7:00 pm MT
TV Networks: Altitude TV (Avs feed), Prime (Ducks feed)
Radio: Altitude Radio
Cali Connection
In the past, the Colorado Avalanche and Anaheim Ducks have been trade partners, or have picked up players from each other. The Avs once acquired Chris Wagner off waivers.
Right now, there’s only one Avalanche player with the Ducks on his resume. Last season Jonathan Bernier tended goal for Anaheim and went 21-7-4.
Whenever the Avs play a California team, we have to point out the Cali connection — Matthew Nieto is from Long Beach.
Challenges vs the Anaheim Ducks
For challenges the Colorado Avalanche will face against the Ducks, I asked Avs-Ducks crossover fan Eddie for some insight. Here’s what he came up with.
Eddie said it — the Avalanche need to play a full 60-minute game.
Most Memorable Games
The most memorable game between the Colorado Avalanche and Anaheim is almost certainly the 2013-14 season opener because it ended like this:
Believe it or not, that wasn’t their most contentious game, not even of that season. On March 14, 2014, the Avalanche lost to the Ducks 6-4. This was a game that saw nine goals scored in the second period. Nine goals scored in one period!
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I was at that game, and I remember just being slack-jawed in disbelief. At the three minute mark, five minute, seven minute, eight minute, nine minute, eleven minute, 18 minute, 18 minute again, nineteen minute marks… goal. And only three of them by the Avalanche.
And then in the third period, the penalties started flying. Charging, roughing, slashing — and eventually a disallowed goal on Nathan MacKinnon.
Oh, and Erik Johnson got ejected from the game for cross checking Mathieu Perreault in the face. We were all so sure he was going to get supplemental discipline — we weren’t arguing if, but how much. For once the Department of Players Safety kept a cool head.
By the time Patrick Bordeleau and Patrick Maroon got ejected from the game, it just felt like a 90’s style grudge match. That’s the wildest game I’ve ever attended.
Hopefully, most of that doesn’t get repeated in this outing against the Ducks.
Next: Avs Get 2 Incredible Goals from Yak
The Colorado Avalanche face the Anaheim Ducks two more times. They host Anaheim on Monday, January 15 at 1:00 pm MT and face the Ducks in Anaheim on Sunday, April 1 at 7:00 pm MT.