Colorado Avalanche Want to Keep the Win-Streak Alive against Penguins
The Colorado Avalanche complete the second of a back-to-back series when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight.
The Colorado Avalanche have a quick turnaround. They
played
beat the Predators in Nashville last night. Tonight they’re at home to
face
beat the Pittsburgh Penguins.
As noted, the Avs are coming off a 3-2 victory over the Predators last night. The Penguins also played last night, beating the Jets in Winnipeg. (Thanks for that — no concessions tonight, though.) Colorado, which has a 14-6-4 record, has gone 7-0-1 in the last eight games.
Pittsburgh has a more modest 10-8-5 record and more modest streak of 3-0-2 in the last five games.
All time, the Colorado Avalanche have fared well against the Penguins, having gone 19-8-3-3 (ties). Colorado took both games last season.
How to Enjoy the Game
Game time: November 28, 7:30 pm MT
TV Networks: Alt, ATTSN-PT (Pens’ feed)
Radio: Altitude Radio (FM 92.5)
Battle of the Superstars
Nathan MacKinnon‘s story will always be a moon to Sidney Crosby‘s planet. The latter is just a generational talent who happens to hail from the same small town as MacKinnon.
That said, Crosby is already 31 years old. That’s far from old. Even by hockey standards, that’s just entering veteran status. However, MacKinnon is 23, so just entering his peak.
And it shows. MacKinnon is second on his team with a nonetheless impressive 37 points (17 goals, 20 assists). By the way, that’s good for second in the entire NHL.
Crosby, meanwhile, is third on his team for points with 25 (10 goals, 15 assists). I don’t want to say his star is waning, but… it’s not waxing like MacKinnon’s.
Let’s talk for a moment about the two players who are first on their team fro scoring. Evgeni Malkin leads the Penguins with 30 points (9 goals, 21 assists), which certainly isn’t too shabby.
Mikko Rantanen is first on the Avalanche and the entire NHL with 40 points (10 goals, 30 assists). Though he’s Finnish, he’s starting to draw comparisons with former Penguins superstar Jaromir Jagr. That’s heady stuff.
We’re in for some high-octane offense tonight.
Back-to-Back-to-Back-to Back…
The Colorado Avalanche are in the second game of a back-to-back series. They had to travel last night to get home for this game. Luckily for Colorado, Pittsburgh also played last night. What’s worse for them is they were in Winnipeg, which is international travel. And they’re still on the road. At altitude.
But Colorado is also coming off another back-to-back series that saw them travel. They played in Arizona then came home to face the Stars on Friday and Saturday respectively. Guess what. Pittsburgh also played Friday night on the road (Boston) and Saturday night at home (Columbus).
The NHL really needs to get out of Starbucks when they’re making these schedules.
The slight advantage goes to the Avalanche because they slept in their own beds last night. And they’re used to playing at altitude. But I guess we’ll also see if that emphasis on conditioning will kick in tonight.
Mental State
More from Analysis
- 4 goalies to replace Pavel Francouz if he has to miss time
- What does Ross Colton bring to the Colorado Avalanche?
- Colorado Avalanche in-depth look at Jonathan Drouin
- Colorado Avalanche without Gabriel Landeskog, will another wear the “C”?
- Avalanche vs. Kraken prediction and odds for NHL playoffs Game 3
The Colorado Avalanche have ever been a mental team. I wish they’d be a team that played with machine-like precision, but you never know what product is going to skate out onto the ice.
The Avs should win tonight’s game. They have hotter scorers and a hotter win streak. They have home ice advantage and younger legs. They historically beat the Penguins.
And all of that is why tonight might be a tough game for Colorado. If they think in those terms, they’ll put their B game on the ice. And Crosby and the Penguins aren’t washed up (yet). They’ll capitalize on mistakes and B-movie hockey from the Avs.
Colorado simply must bring a good game to the ice tonight.
dark. Next. MacKinnon Growing into his Role
After tonight, the Colorado Avalanche will host their Central Division rival St. Louis Blues before heading out on another road trip. The four-game road trip will actually take them to Pittsburgh to face the Penguins the second and final time this season.