Colorado Avalanche Looking for 11 Straight in Montreal

The Colorado Avalanche look to extend their winning streak to 11 on the road against the Montreal Canadiens.

The Colorado Avalanche have just won 10 straight games. That’s the second-longest winning streak in franchise history. The longest winning streak took place from Jan 10 to February 7, 1999 — 12 games. The Avalanche hope to keep working toward that mark with their game in Montreal tonight.

Historically, the Avalanche have done well against Montreal, having gone 17-8-3(ties) all time. Indeed, even last year in the dreadful 48-point season, Colorado beat Montreal 4-0 on February 7 at home. Unfortunately, that was preceded by one of the worst beatings in Avs history — a 10-1 debacle in Montreal.

Water under the bridge. As I mentioned, the Avalanche are enjoying a winning streak. They just beat the Maple Leafs in Toronto 4-2. In fact, they even saw a goalie interference call go their way — a Toronto goal was disallowed. Things are coming up Avs.

And tonight the Avalanche hope to keep their winning streak alive by beating the Canadiens. This is a back-to-back game for Colorado — the sixth of the season. Montreal, on the other hand, hasn’t played since Saturday when they lost 4-1 to the Boston Bruins.

I’ll just leave this little Nikita Zadorov quote here:

How to Enjoy the Game

Game time: January 23, 5:30pm MT
TV Networks: Altitude  TV (Avs feed), TSN2 (Canadiens feed)
Radio: Altitude Radio (AM 950)

Quebecois Effect

As I mentioned in yesterday’s preview, the Colorado Avalanche don’t have any current roster players from the Ontario Province. However, they have five from the Quebec Province:

• Gabriel Bourque (Rimouski)
• A.J. Greer (Joliette)
• Mark Barberio (Montreal)
• Samuel Girard (Roberval)
• Jonathan Bernier (Laval)

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Within those five, Mark Barberio, a native of Montreal, also played for the Canadiens for 1 1/2 seasons. In fact, the Avalanche picked him up on waivers from the Canadiens. Needless to say, he’ll want to have a very good showing against Montreal, especially if he has family and friends in attendance — and he’s sure to. He already faced his old team in burgundy and blue, just five days after the waiver pick up. (He recorded two assists in that game.)

Though of Swiss nationality, Sven Andrighetto also has a Montreal Canadiens connection. He played for the Habs from 2014 to 2017, when Colorado traded Andreas Martinsen for him at the March 1 deadline. Andrighetto has not faced his former team yet.

Side note: I find it fascinating that players like AJ Greer sound like they can be from any part of Canada, while Gabriel Bourque and, especially, Sam Girard have distinct French accents.

MacKinnon Streak Ended

Nathan MacKinnon‘s nine-game points streak has ended. The sky is falling.

In fact, the Colorado Avalanche managed to win 4-2 over the Toronto Maple Leafs without their golden boy recording a point. They got scoring from all four lines, but when MacKinnon’s linemate Gabriel Landeskog scored an empty-netter, Nate wasn’t involved.

MacKinnon’s points streak ending is a good thing because the Avalanche still won. Make no mistake, Nathan is dragging the Avs along on his back, but it’s good to see they can still get a W even if he’s held off the score sheet.

Nathan MacKinnon’s old major juniors linemate and longtime buddy Jonathan Drouin likes what he sees in MacK. The current Hab — Montreal traded defenseman Mikhail Sergachev for 2013’s third-overall over the summer — said of his old linemate:

"“I’m happy that things are going well for him this year. Last season, it was a bit tough on him. It’s fun to see him put up points and help his team win – even if we’re playing against him. I watch his games sometimes. He’s a proud player. He’s always been that way. He’s talented and powerful. He has speed and strength.”"

Indeed, Drouin remembers his time in major juniors, remarking that when they played on the same line they “generated plenty of chances.”

Well, as MacKinnon has shown with his hometown buddy Sidney Crosby, friendships off the ice don’t count during game play.

Goalie?

The Colorado Avalanche haven’t made a habit of starting the same goalie in back-to-back games. In fact, until Semyon Varlamov‘s injury, there was a notable rotation of goal tending.

Well, ever since Varlamov re-tweaked his groin against the Winnipeg Jets on January 2, Bernier has been the go-to goalie for Colorado. In fact, he’s enjoying a nine-game winning streak that started on New Year’s Eve. That’s a career-best for Bernier. It’s the best an Avs goalie has recorded since Patrick Roy recorded an 11-game win streak from January 12 to February 7, 1999.

Like I said, though, the Avs haven’t been starting the same goalie in back-to-back games too often this season. In fact, Avs insider Adrian Dater reported the following:

If that happens, it will mark Andrew Hammond’s first appearance as an Avalanche goalie in anything other than a backup capacity.

Next: 3 Players Facing Increased Pressure

The Colorado Avalanche will face the Canadiens one more time this season, at home on Valentines’ Day. After tonight’s game, Colorado heads back to the U.S. for a game against the St. Louis Blues.