NHL
Avalanche and Penguins Play Back-to-Back After Wins Last Night
The Colorado Avalanche and Pittsburgh Penguins will face off on Wednesday night at the Pepsi Center, also known as “The Can.” Both teams are coming off 1-goal victories on the road. The Avalanche won 3-2, for the first time in two years, or 11 regular season games, in Nashville. Nathan Mackinnon scored two goals, Semyon Varlamov saved 36 of 38 shots, and the power-play unit was perfect, scoring two goals. The Penguins overcame a 3-2, second-period deficit on the way to a 4-3 win over Winnipeg. They managed their first win of the season when trailing after two periods last night, improving to 1-7-1. The Avalanche are the only team in the NHL with a points-won percentage above .500 when trailing after two periods (3-2-1).
Avs Look to Extend Win Streak to Six
With the 3-2 victory on Tuesday night in Nashville, the Avalanche have now won five road games in a row and five straight games in a row overall. They have picked up at least a point in 8 straight contests. Leading the team to victory has been the “Rocky Mountain Line” of Mikko Rantanen, Nathan MacKinnon, and Gabriel Landeskog. The trio has combined for 103 points through 24 games this season, with Rantanen and MacKinnon leading the league in scoring, respectively. The Avs hold a 19-8-6 all-time record against Pittsburgh (since 1995-96), which includes an 8-4-4 mark at home. Colorado went 2-0-0 against the Pens during the 2017-18 season.
Penguins Look to Continue Winning Ways in Denver
The Penguins are 5-2-0 in it’s last seven trips to Colorado, despite losing 4-2 in Denver last year. In fact, the Penguins (.631) are second only to the New York Rangers (.644) in inter-conference games since the 2014-15 season. After last night’s 4-3 win in Winnipeg, the team improved to 3-0-1 in their last four games, after going 1-7-2 in the prior 10. Sidney Crosby scored a goal in the win over the Jets last night, his first in Winnipeg since January 25th, 2013. He will look to snap his longest active streak in days without a goal at any arena in which he had previously scored. The last time he scored in Denver was January 10, 2009, or 3,609 days ago.
Where the Cards Fall
Wednesday night’s matchup at “The Can” will surely be an exciting one with huge hits and offensive prowess. The over/under for total goals scored at the time of this article being written was 6.5, with the Avalanche favored at -115. Both teams, coming off a back-to-back, will most likely start their backup goalies. The Avalanche with Philip Grubauer and the Penguins, already missing starter Matt Murray, will either turn to Casey DeSmith or Tristan Jarry. If the Rocky Mountain Line finds a way to score points on the power-play, look for the Avalanche to continue their winning streak to six.
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