Morning Flurries: Hattrick Hornqvist

The Colorado Avalanche have faced off against the Penguins for both their home and away matchups already this year — and it’s certainly been something.

The Penguins have managed to get off two natural hat tricks in the two games, leaving the Avalanche scrambling to keep up in both cases.

In the first game, Sidney Crosby got the hat trick, but a lackluster performance from the rest of the team left the Avalanche to cruise ahead to a win.

This time, Patric Hornqvist’s natural hattie was just half of the total sum of Pittsburgh’s goals — and Colorado’s own three goals weren’t enough to get something done. [Mile High Hockey]

In some more exciting news, though, the Avalanche just keep finding out more about their World Juniors representation. And with two Russian prospects being added to their national team for the 2019 tournament, that’s even more opportunity to watch Colorado’s future in action. [MHH]

Speaking of prospects, shout out to Cam Morrison for having a monster week!

Off the ice, Tyson Barrie got real with the fans to talk about the lava cake his mom taught him how to make. [NHL.com]

It’s also that time of year again!

Every season, Forbes comes out with a study looking at the estimated valuation of every NHL franchise, examining who looks to be the most valuable and who’s still having trouble.

The most valuable team? An Original Six mainstay takes that prize in the New York Rangers. The least valuable? The Arizona Coyotes, who are just five million behind the Florida Panthers. [Forbes]

Finally, stick taps to Brian McGrattan for giving such a candid statement about sobriety: