Colorado Avalanche (45-13-10) @ Washington Capitals (35-27-8)
10:30 a.m. MT | Capital One Arena | Watch: Altitude, Altitude+, NHL Network | Listen: Altitude Sports Radio (92.5 FM)
After becoming the first team to both clinch a playoff spot and reach 100 points, the Avalanche faces the Washington Capitals in a Sunday matinee. This is the second and final regular-season meeting between the teams, as the Avalanche defeated the Capitals 5-2 in Denver on January 19th.
Latest Result (COL): COL 4, CHI 1
Latest Result (WSH): NJD 1, WSH 2
Win-dy City Friday
Martin Necas (1g/2a) and Nathan MacKinnon (3a) posted matching three-point games to help the Avalanche defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 and clinch a playoff spot on Friday at United Center. Brock Nelson, Nazem Kadri and Valeri Nichushkin all added a tally, while Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 19 of the 20 shots he faced in net. Necas opened the scoring at 13:19 of the first period with his 32nd goal of the season via a left-circle one-timer off the rush set up by Nichushkin’s backhand feed after he received MacKinnon’s pass that led him to the low slot. Colorado doubled its lead on the power play at 15:22 of the first period when Nelson scored his 31st goal of the season via a net-front redirect set up by Cale Makar’s feed. At 6:48 of the second period, Wyatt Kaiser put the Blackhawks on the board with a shot from the doorstep. Kadri gave the Avs a 3-1 lead on the power play at 36 seconds of the third period with his 14th goal of the season via a shot from the bottom of the right circle assisted by MacKinnon’s cross-ice backhand feed. The Avalanche took a 4-1 lead at 8:34 of the third period when Nichushkin scored his 15th goal of the season via a shot from the low slot off the rush that was set up by MacKinnon, who picked up a loose puck in the high slot to start the play.
Leading the Way
Nate the Great
MacKinnon leads the NHL in goals (45) while ranking third in points (114) and assists (69).
All Hail Cale
Among NHL defensemen, Makar is third in points (70) while ranking tied for third in goals (20) and fifth in assists (50).
Marty Party
Necas ranks eighth in the NHL in points (84).
Series History
In 44 previous regular-season games against the Capitals, the Avalanche has a record of 20-20-2-2.
Winning to Start the Weekend
The Capitals defeated the New Jersey Devils 2-1 at Capital One Arena on Friday. Washington’s Ryan Leonard opened the scoring at 9:36 of the first period, and Aliaksei Protas doubled the Capitals’ lead with an empty-net tally at 18:17 of the third frame. Jesper Bratt put the Devils on the board with a goal at 19:17 of the third period.
Contributing Against the Capitals
MacKinnon has posted 31 points (13g/18a) in 22 games against the Capitals.
In 10 contests against Washington, Makar has recorded eight points (2g/6a).
Necas has registered 19 points (6g/13a) in 17 games against the Capitals.
Scoring in D.C.
Alex Ovechkin and Tom Wilson are tied for first on the Capitals in goals (25) and points (52) while ranking tied for third in assists (27).
Dylan Strome leads the Capitals in assists (34) while ranking fourth in points (50) and fifth in goals (16).
Jakob Chychrun is second on the Capitals in assists (28) while ranking third in points (51) and tied for third in goals (23).
A Numbers Game
36
On Friday, MacKinnon recorded his 36th multi-point game of the season, which tied his mark in the 2022-23 season for the second most in Avalanche history (since 1995-96).
22
Necas’ 22 points (13g/9a) since February 25th are the second most in the NHL.
8
Nelson’s eight game-winning goals this season are tied for third in the NHL.
Quote That Left a Mark
“It’s a good start. We’ll be happy about that. We like what we’re doing right now. Obviously, there’s ebbs and flows to the season, but I think to this point in the season if you look at it as a whole, that we’ve put ourselves in a good spot here. We feel good about the way we’re playing. Making the playoffs is the first step to getting to where you want to go. So we’re pretty happy about that. Get 100 points and still a lot of season left to play.”
— Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar on clinching a playoff spot