The Colorado Avalanche face the Vancouver Canucks with both teams looking to improve from rocky seasons. The Avalanche have a 19-14-3 record but have lost four games in a row while the Canucks have a 16-18-3 record and with three losses in a row, they have fallen to the bottom of the Pacific Division. Both teams are looking to rebound in the Western Conference and the upcoming game looks to be a good one as a result.
The Avalanche are having a promising season despite their offense struggling and scoring only 2.89 goals per game with only four goals in the last two games. Mikko Rantanen, Nathan MacKinnon, and Artturi Lehkonen have combined for 43 goals and 65 assists while Cale Makar is adding nine goals and 25 assists from the point but the rest of the offense has struggled. Only five skaters have scored eight goals or more while only seven skaters have eight goals or more and opposing defenses can limit the top-heavy offense as a result.
The offense has struggled but the defense has carried the Avalanche, allowing only 2.83 goals per game. Devon Toews and Cale Makar have combined for 5.5 defensive point shares and 109 blocked shots while Erik Johnson and Josh Manson have combined for 3.0 defensive point shares to add depth to the unit. In addition, goaltender Alexandar Georgiev has struggled in the net wi th a .915 save percentage and a 2.68 goals-against average on 843 shots.