Colorado @ Arizona preview
Mullett Arena
Last Meeting ( Dec 23, 2023 ) Arizona 1, Colorado 4
The Colorado Avalanche and Arizona Coyotes enjoyed their matchup so much Saturday that they're ready to face one another again four days later.
The Avalanche beat the Coyotes 4-1 in Denver in the last game before the NHL's holiday break, and now they come out of the hiatus to play again on Wednesday night in Tempe, Ariz.
Colorado dominated much of the Saturday win. Nathan MacKinnon had an assist to extend his point streak to 18 games, which is the longest in the NHL this season. He also has at least one point in all 18 of the Avalanche's home games.
MacKinnon has 12 goals and 22 assists during his streak and broke a tie with Toronto's William Nylander for the longest points streak this season with his assist on Saturday night.
"If I had to just say one thing, to be able to go 18 games, it's consistency," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. "It's getting to a high level and being able to stay there for a long period of time."
MacKinnon has moved into second in the league in overall points (54) and set a franchise record for a home point streak to open a season.
He got some help from the back with goals from defensemen Bowen Byram and Josh Manson, and Valeri Nichushkin picked up his fourth goal in his last four games.
The Avalanche have recovered from a small swoon they went through in early December. They went 1-3-2 over six games that started with an overtime loss at the Coyotes, but they've bounced back with a 5-2-0 mark over the last seven.
They still won't have Sam Girard available, who is still in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program, but he has returned and is skating with the team. Andrew Cogliano is listed as day-to-day, but he did play Saturday and notched an assist.
This will be the third game in less than a month between the Central Division rivals and a chance for Arizona to earn at least a split of the four regular-season games. The Coyotes have won their last three home games, where they play six of their next seven games.
Wednesday night can be a good gauge for Arizona, which is currently fifth in the division and occupies the second wild card in the Western Conference.
"They're the measuring-stick team in our division," said Alex Kerfoot, who had the lone Coyotes goal on Saturday night. "They've won a Cup in the last couple of years. They've been right at the top of the league for a number of years, and if we want to be pushing into playing meaningful games, if we want to be a team who competes for playoff spots, these are the types of teams that we need to bring our best efforts against."
Kerfoot played for Colorado for two seasons before he was dealt to Toronto in 2019. This is his first season with Arizona.
The Coyotes may not have defenseman J.J. Moser available after he left Saturday's game in the second period with an upper-body injury and didn't return. He took a hard hit against the boards from Miles Wood before exiting at 3:13 of the frame.
--Field Level Media