Colorado finishes road trip vs. Coyotes
Following the Avalanche’s 7-3 win over the Kings on Wednesday night in Los Angeles, Colorado completes its three-city road trip with a showdown against the Coyotes on Friday night. Here are five story lines to watch heading into the game in Arizona.
Offense explodes in L.A.
Colorado (11-6-4, 3rd in Central) posted a season-high seven goals in the blowout victory over the lowly Kings at the Staples Center, with defensemen Tyson Barrie, Patrik Nemeth and Nikita Zadorov all providing secondary scoring as the Avalanche is one of two teams in the Western Conference with at least seven road wins.
Power play effectiveness.
With three power play goals against Los Angeles, the Avalanche continues to perform well on special teams. Vladislav Kamenev and Nathan MacKinnon had extra-strength goals in the first and Colin Wilson added another in the second, and Colorado leads the NHL with 23 goals in 70 power play chances (32.9 percent) in 2018.
The return of Wilson.
After missing Wednesday’s victory in Anaheim due to a lower body injury, Wilson returned and made his presence felt beyond his goal. The 29-year-old’s play alongside Tyson Jost (two assists against Kings) and Alex Kerfoot (three assists) continues to emerge as a potent second line behind Mikko Rantanen, Gabriel Landeskog and MacKinnon.
Coyotes’ two top guns.
Colorado won two of its three games against Arizona last season, including a 6-2 win in the teams’ lone showdown at Gila River Arena. Clayton Keller will be Colorado’s primary concern, as the center leads Arizona with 13 points (five goals, eight assists) while Oliver Ekman-Larsson (12 points) is the Coyotes’ other main offensive threat.
Large homestand looms.
After playing the Coyotes (9-9-2), Colorado returns to the Pepsi Center to take on Dallas on Saturday, then plays at Nashville on the 27th before closing November with home games against Pittsburgh and St. Louis. The Avalanche will then be at home for seven of December’s 15 games, including a rematch with the Stars on Dec. 15.
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