The Colorado Avalanche will face the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday night, continuing their road trip after a 4-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. This matchup marks the second and final regular-season meeting between the teams, following Colorado's 8-2 win over Ottawa on January 8 in Denver. The game is set for 5:30 p.m. MT at Canadian Tire Centre.
The Avalanche enter the contest with a strong 35-6-9 record, fresh off a Sunday win in Toronto where Brock Nelson notched his fifth career hat trick. Nelson scored three goals—his 25th, 26th, and 27th of the season—including an empty-netter to seal the 4-1 victory. Jack Drury added his eighth goal of the year, while goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood made 32 saves on 33 shots faced.
Meanwhile, the Senators (24-21-7) are coming off a dominant 7-1 home win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday. Ottawa's offense erupted with goals from Fabian Zetterlund, Dylan Cozens (two), Jordan Spence, Stephen Halliday (two), and Nick Jensen, building leads of 1-0 after the first period and 4-0 after the second.
Colorado holds a favorable series history, with a 26-14-2-2 record in 44 regular-season games against Ottawa. Key Avalanche players have thrived against the Senators: Nathan MacKinnon has 38 points (12 goals, 26 assists) in 22 games, Cale Makar has 16 points (6 goals, 10 assists) in 10, and Martin Necas has 13 points (5 goals, 8 assists) in 15.
For Ottawa, Tim Stutzle leads with 53 points (23 goals, 30 assists), Jake Sanderson tops in assists with 31 (41 points total), and Drake Batherson has 44 points (19 goals, 25 assists).
League-leading stats highlight Colorado's form: the team has held opponents to one or fewer goals in an NHL-low 18 games this season. MacKinnon leads the NHL with 38 goals and 88 points, including an NHL-best 14 multi-point games of at least three points. Nelson has four multi-goal games in January alone.
Reflecting on his hot streak of 21 goals in 26 games, Nelson said: “If I knew I could bottle it up and keep it a secret, I’d tell you. But I think it’s just [that I’m] trying to just play, not really think about too much, go out there [and] read and react off the play. Find your space, find your openings. Never pass up on a shot. And [I’m] just fortunate to play [on a line] with [Artturi Lehkonen] and [Valeri Nichushkin]. Obviously bounced around, too, [on a line with Martin Necas and Nathan MacKinnon]. We got a lot of high-end and a lot of depth and we pride ourselves on that. So for me, it’s easy to try to be responsible and go from there. Be patient with the game. Know you’re going to get your opportunities with our team.”