Colorado Avalanche Host Division Rival Night against Dallas Stars

The Colorado Avalanche are set to host their Central Division rivals, the Dallas Stars. It might be a high-scoring affair.

The Colorado Avalanche return home from their western road trip victorious. They took six out of six points. The worst thing they did was allow the Anaheim Ducks to get a single loser point, because the game went to overtime. They beat both the Arizona Coyotes and LA Kings in regulation.

Well, they’re facing a little stiffer competition tonight. They’re very well-matched with a Stars team that’s gone 12-9-2 this season to Colorado’s 12-6-4. However, Colorado’s record puts them above the Stars in the standings. The Avs are third in the Central Division, while the Stars are fifth.

To pound home how ridiculous the Central Division is, the two wild card spots are both occupied by Central players — Winnipeg in the first and Dallas in the second slot. Side note, the Jets have Marko Dano back. Colorado put him on waivers today, and the Jets snapped him back up.

Historically, the Colorado Avalanche have played well against the Dallas Stars, going 57-42-9-8 (ties) all time. Last season, the Avs topped the Stars 3-2. The Avalanche won twice at home and once on the road, while losing once each on the road and at home.

The Avalanche will be wearing their third jerseys tonight since it’s a Division Rival Night.

How to Enjoy the Game

Game time: November 24, 7:00 pm MT
TV Networks: Alt, FS-SW+ (Stars’ feed)
Radio: Altitude Radio (FM 92.5)

Humboldt Broncos

We all know the story of the Humboldt Broncos. If not, a quick recap is that a junior A team were involved in a bus crash in early April  that resulted in 16 fatalities — including 10 players, aged 16 to 21. In addition, other players suffered a range of injuries. Two of the players, Ryan Straschnitzki and Jacob Wassermann, were paralyzed.

The two players played in a sled hockey exhibition on Friday. They joined join disabled veterans and some U.S. National Team players during intermission of Friday’s Denver vs. Providence game.

Dawg Nation Hockey, a Denver-based foundation that helps hockey people in times of need, is sponsoring the trip.

Coach Jared Bednar, who grew up in Humboldt and played hockey with Wassermann’s father as a child, is part of the reason this event is happening. He said if the reunion of Straschnitzki and Wasserman:

“I’m sure that will be emotional the first time they get on the ice together. Those kids have been unbelievable. What they’ve had to go through, the way they carry themselves and their attitude — it’s really impressive but also really inspiring.”

He added that he hoped the survivors and families understood that “continued support is coming their way.”

(I’m not going to lie — I can’t even type about this tragedy without getting teary-eyed. I’m not planning on wearing any eye makeup to the game.)

Back-to-Back, Back-to-Back

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The Dallas Stars game is the second game of a back-to-back for the Colorado Avalanche. Being a road trip, they’re having to travel home before hosting their division rival Stars.

Well, in a lucky turn of fate, the Stars are also in their second game of a back-to-back. They played at home, so they’re have to travel to Denver to play in Pepsi Center.

So, neither team has a true advantage, However, you can say the Avs have at least a small advantage because they’re playing at home — and they should be accustomed to the altitude.

Scoring Galore

The Colorado Avalanche are doing ok in the scoring department. They have 83 goals on the season and a differential of +20. They’re tied for second with the Nashville Predators in that department. (Tampa Bay is #1 with a +21.)

Dallas isn’t quite that impressive. However, they’re in the black with a +3 goals differential, 66 for and 63 against.

At the risk of inspiring a 2-1 game, I’m going to point out that last year the two teams had some high-scoring games. Between them, they scored 29 goals in five games, which works out to 5.8 goals per game. Colorado has the slight edge with 15 of those goals.

Also, the Avalanche lead the entire NHL in goals scored per game with 3.77. Also, Mikko Rantanen is still the scoring leader with 36 points (9 goals, 27 assists). The Who’s Your Daddy Line has a total of 94 points, which also leads the NHL.

Back-to-back games are always tough. However, this one couldn’t have come at a better time with the Avs having won 5 of their last 6, with the single loss having gone to overtime. After tonight, the Colorado Avalanche have another back-to-back set as they travel to Nashville before hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins.