The power play came out in force Thursday night, as the Avs and Senators combined for five power play goals in a 4-3 victory for the Avalanche. Despite initially having a 3-0 lead, the Avs let up and allowed the offensively inclined Senators to creep back in the game. Though they bent, the Avs did not break in the third and snuck away with an empty net winner and two points in the standings. The Avs had the benefit of being the rested team in the back-to-back formula last night. Tonight, the tables will turn as the Avs head to Detroit to take on their once hated rival in the Red Wings.
The Red Wings are coming off a victory against the very same Senators on Wednesday night. The Red Wings are led in net by young goaltender Petr Mrazek and upfront by their budding star center and leading point-getter, Dylan Larkin. Drafted two years ago, the 19-year-old rookie is quickly making a name for himself. In addition to leading the Red Wings in points, the rookie broke the fastest skater record at the All-Star Skills Competition two weeks ago. While Larkin and Mrazek show strong sparks for the continuation of the Red Wings historic playoff streak, they also show signs of the fading of an NHL rivalry. While the Stadium Series game two weeks away is one last grasp of the great rivalry these two teams had several years ago, the fact that the leading scorer for one of the teams was born after the Western Conference Finals series that birthed the rivalry may show that this once heated rivalry is in the rearview mirror. Nonetheless, both these teams need points to continue their playoff pushes and the other team lies in the way.
LINES
Landeskog-Soderberg-Comeau
Tanguay-MacKinnon-McLeod
Grigorenko-Mitchell-Duchene
Martinsen-Wagner-Iginla
Beauchemin-Johnson
Holden-Barrie
Bigras-Bodnarchuk
Varlamov
Pickard
Scratches: Redmond
NOTES
- Petr Mrazek leads the NHL in both save percentage and goals against average.
- Nine of Jarome Iginla's 15 goals have come on the power play.
- Dylan Larkin and Nathan MacKinnon are the two youngest players to lead their team in points in the NHL.
GAME INFO
Game time: 5:30pm MT
TV: ALT