Colorado Avalanche @ Toronto Maple Leafs
Pregame Notes
Toronto Maple Leafs Notes:
Last Game:
- Toronto 6, New York 3 – Led by the play of their top line, who combined for seven points, Toronto spoiled New York’s home opener on Sunday night at Madison Square Garden. The Maple Leafs offence erupted for five second-period goals (in a span of 9:54), including a powerplay, even strength and shorthanded marker in less than five minutes. Phil Kessel led the way with three points (1 goal, 2 assists) while James Reimer made 24 saves to earn his first victory of the season.
Worth Nothing:
- Sunday night’s game against the Rangers marked the first time the Maple Leafs have scored five goals in a period since January 7, 2011 (9-3 win at Atlanta)
- With an assist on Sunday night against New York, Stuart Percy became the first rookie defenceman in Maple Leafs history to record a point in each of his first three games
- The last time Toronto scored six goals in their road opener was October 5, 2006 at Ottawa (6-0 W)
Injury Report:
- David Booth – Sustained broken right foot in preseason game against Buffalo, September 28 and placed on injured reserve (expected out four or more weeks)
- Cody Franson – Sustained knee injury in preseason game against Buffalo, September 28 (missed one regular season game; removed from IR October 11)
2014-15 Total Regular Season Man Games Lost: 4
2013-14 Total Regular Season Man Games Lost: 231
Recent Transactions:
- September 30 – Assigned Troy Bodie to the Toronto Marlies (AHL)
- October 6 – Assigned William Nylander to Modo (SHL)
- October 7 – Assigned Korbinian Holzer, Frazer McLaren and Colton Orr to the Toronto Marlies (AHL). Loaned Viktor Loov to the Toronto Marlies. Recalled Troy Bodie from the Toronto Marlies (AHL)
- October 9 – Claimed forward Richard Panik off waivers from Tampa Bay. Assigned Josh Leivo and Troy Bodie to the Toronto Marlies (AHL)
Notes of The Night:
- Phil Kessel holds the NHL’s sixth longest active games played streak, having skated in 367 consecutive games dating back to his time with Boston. Kessel has never missed a game in his time with the Maple Leafs
- Through three games Toronto ranks 5th in NHL powerplay percentage (41.7%)
- The Maple Leafs currently rank 2nd (tie) in the NHL with 11 goals scored in three games
- Tyler Bozak is currently riding a 3-game goal streak (3 goals), the longest of his NHL career. Bozak is set to play the 300th game of his NHL career
- Stuart Percy is currently riding a 3-game point streak (3 assists), the longest of his NHL career
- Leo Komarov registered the first multi-point game (2 assists) of his NHL career on Sunday against New York
Tonight’s Matchup: Colorado Avalanche vs Toronto Maple Leafs:
- 2013-14 Series: 1-1-0 (0-1-0 at Toronto)
- All-Time Record: 26-36-9-1 (16-18-4-1 at Toronto)
- Last Game: January 21, 2014 at Colorado (Toronto 5, Colorado 2)
- Next Game: Thursday, November 6, 2014 at Colorado
- Current Streak: 1 win (Toronto)
Toronto Notables vs Colorado:
- Dion Phaneuf leads all Maple Leaf skaters with 20 career points (6 goals, 14 assists) in 38 games against Colorado. Phaneuf’s first NHL point (1 goal, 1 assist) came on October 10, 2005 against the Avalanche
- Joffrey Lupul had 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists) in 2 games to lead the Maple Leafs against the Avalanche last season
- Carter Ashton collected his first career NHL point (assist) on October 8, 2013 against Colorado
- Tyler Bozak played his first NHL game and recorded his first point (assist) against Colorado on October 13, 2009
- Stephane Robidas played his first NHL game against the Avalanche on October 20, 1999
Moving Up The List:
With three points on Sunday night against the Rangers, Phil Kessel moved past Bill Derlago into 27th spot on the Maple Leafs all-time scoring list with 336 points in 366 games. Kessel needs 4 points to move past Dick Duff for 26th all-time.
Upcoming Player Milestones:
Games Played
- Tyler Bozak‘s next game will be his 300th career NHL and 300th Maple Leaf game
- Daniel Winnik needs 7 games to reach 500 career NHL games played
- David Clarkson needs 11 games to reach 500 career NHL games played
- Phil Kessel needs 11 games to reach 600 career NHL games played
- Stephane Robidas needs 12 games to reach 900 career NHL games played
- Dion Phaneuf needs 17 games to reach 700 career NHL games played
Goals
- James van Riemsdyk needs 4 goals to reach 100 career NHL goals scored
- Joffrey Lupul needs 15 goals to reach 200 career NHL goals scored
Assists
- James van Riemsdyk needs 2 assists to reach 100 career NHL assists
- Stephane Robidas needs 4 assists to reach 200 career NHL assists
Points
- James van Riemsdyk needs 5 points to reach 100 Maple Leaf points
- James van Riemsdyk needs 6 points to reach 200 career NHL points
- Mike Santorelli needs 12 points to reach 100 career NHL points
- Joffrey Lupul needs 13 points to reach 400 career NHL points
- Tyler Bozak needs 13 points to reach 200 career NHL and 200 Maple Leaf points
- Cody Franson needs 15 points to reach 100 Maple Leaf points
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Colorado Avalanche Notes:
Last Game:
Colorado 2 at Boston 1 – Daniel Briere scored his 300th NHL goal with less than a second left in regulation to give the Avalanche a 2-1 victory over the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. Jamie McGinn also scored for the Avs and Reto Berra stopped 27-of-28 shots in his first start of the season. The win was Colorado’s seventh straight victory at Boston, as the Avs haven’t lost in Beantown since March 30, 1998.
Current Injuries:
- Patrick Bordeleau (back).
- John Mitchell (head).
- Jesse Winchester (head).
Recent Transactions:
- None
Avs Continue Four-Game Trip Tonight In Toronto:
The Colorado Avalanche continues their four-game road trip tonight in Toronto against the Maple Leafs. The Avs opened the trip with a 2-1 victory in Boston yesterday afternoon. The Avalanche will play at Ottawa on Thursday before wrapping up the trip on Saturday night in Montreal.
Avs & Maple Leafs:
Tonight is the first of two meetings between the Avalanche and Maple Leafs this season. Toronto will visit Denver on November 6. The Avs have won their last four visits here to the Air Canada Centre. Colorado’s last loss in this building was March 20, 2004.
- All-time Record vs. Toronto: 37-26-9
- Home Record: 18-10-5
- Road Record: 19-16-4
- Record Since Moving To Denver: 14-10-2
- 2013-14 Record: 1-1-0 (1-0 on the road)
Briere Tallies 300th In Dramatic Fashion:
Daniel Briere scored his 300th NHL goal yesterday afternoon in Boston, lighting the lamp with under a second left in regulation to give the Avalanche a 2-1 victory. Briere is the first Avalanche player to ever score a game-winning goal with one second left in regulation.
Back-To-Back:
The Avs are playing their first of 12 back-to-back games, as they take on the Maple Leafs tonight after beating the Bruins 2-1 yesterday afternoon in Boston. The Avalanche played 10 back-to-back games last season, going 7-2-1 in the first game and 4-4-2 in the second.
East Side Story:
The Avs are 1-0 vs Eastern Conference teams this season after beating the Bruins 2-1 yesterday afternoon. Colorado finished 21-9-2 against Eastern Conference teams last year, 10-4-2 at home and 11-5-0 on the road. After yesterday’s victory in Boston, Colorado is now 35-13-3 against the East since the start of the 2011-12 season, 55-23-9 since 2009-10 and 83-43-9 since 2005-06.
Iginla Climbing The All-Time Lists:
Jarome Iginla has 1,167 career points—including 560 goals—in 1,313 career regular season games. His 560 goals are tied with Guy Lafleur for 24th place on the NHL’s all-time list, while his 1,167 career points rank 50th on the all-time scoring list. His next goal will not only move him past Lafleur but also tie him with Mike Modano (561) for 23rd all-time. Iginla needs three points to tie Bobby Hull (1170) for 49th all-time. Only Jaromir Jagr (705) has more goals among active players and only Jagr (1757) and Joe Thornton (1195) have more points. Iginla has twice finished runner-up for the Hart Trophy (2002, 2004), which included finishing second in the closest voting ever in 2001-02. He won the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy as the NHL’s leading goal scorer in both 2002 and 2004 and captured the 2002 Art Ross Trophy as the league’s scoring leader. Iginla was named to the NHL’s First All-Star Team in 2001-02, 2007-08 and 2008-09, and the NHL’s Second All-Star Team in 2003-04. He was selected to the NHL All-Rookie Team and was a finalist for the Calder Trophy in 1996-97. Jarome has won the 2004 NHL Foundation Player Award (community service), 2004 King Clancy Memorial Trophy (leadership and humanitarian contribution in his community) and the 2009 Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award.
Player Milestones:
- Brad Stuart needs just 12 games to reach 1,000 career regular season games in the NHL. Alex Tanguay can also reach the 1,000-game mark this season, as he has appeared in 941 contests, 59 shy of 1,000.
- Jan Hejda needs one assist to reach 100 NHL assists.
- Semyon Varlamov has appeared in 153 games as a member of the Avalanche, tying Ron Tugnutt for seventh place on the franchise’s all-time list for games played by a goaltender. Varlamov’s 78 wins with Colorado rank seventh in franchise history, one behind Mario Gosselin (79) for sixth.
- Alex Tanguay needs one goal to tie Dale Hunter (142) for ninth place on the franchise’s all-time goal-scoring list.
- Cody McLeod needs 15 penalty minutes to reach 1,000 career PIM. He will become the first player in Avalanche history and sixth in franchise history to surpass 1,000 PIM.
- Ryan O’Reilly needs nine points to reach 200 career points.
- Maxime Talbot needs 12 games to reach 600 career contests and five assists to reach 100 career helpers.
Central Division Champs:
The Avalanche tied their franchise record with 52 wins and posted their-second highest point total ever (112) en route to winning the Central Division title in 2013-14. Colorado finished 52-22-8, exactly 26-11-4 at home (56 points) and 26-11-4 on the road (56 points). The Avs set a franchise mark for road wins on their way to finishing with the best road record in the NHL.
Ninth Division Crown; First Since 2002-03:
The Avs last season won their ninth division championship since moving to Denver, their first since 2002-03. It marked Colorado/Quebec’s 11th division title in franchise history, which includes an NHL-record streak of nine consecutive division crowns from 1995 to 2003. The Avalanche/Nordiques have now won the Central Division (2013-14), five Northwest Division titles (1998-99 to 2002-03), three Pacific Division crowns (1995-98), a Northeast Division title (1994-95) and an Adams Division banner (1985-86).
Road, Sweet Road:
The Avalanche last year set a franchise record for road wins in a season with 26. The Avs led the NHL in road wins, points (56) and winning percentage (683%). The Avalanche began the year a league-best 6-0 away from home, matching their longest road winning streak to begin a season in franchise history, and finished the year 15-5-2 in their last 22 road contests.
Central Success:
Colorado finished 19-6-3 against Central Division opponents last season, 9-3-2 at home and 10-3-1 on the road. The Avs were 4-1-0 vs. Chicago, 4-1-0 vs. Dallas, 4-0-1 vs. Minnesota, 3-1-0 vs. Nashville, 1-3-0 vs. St. Louis and 3-0-2 vs. Winnipeg. The Central ended up being the only division to produce five playoff teams in 2013-14.
Award-Winning Season:
The Avalanche took home three individual trophies at the 2014 NHL Awards Show in Las Vegas on June 24. Nathan MacKinnon won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie, Ryan O’Reilly won the Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct, while Patrick Roy won the Jack Adams Award as the coach of the year. The Avs and Boston Bruins were the only teams to produce three winners. Semyon Varlamov was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, making Colorado one of only two teams with four awards finalists (Tampa Bay was the other).
The Power Of One:
The Avs were 28-4-8 in one-goal games last year, the best winning percentage in the NHL (.700%). Colorado’s 28 one-goal wins were also a league high.
Working Overtime:
The Avs finished 15-8 in games that went beyond regulation last season, 10-4 in overtime and 5-4 in shootouts. The Avalanche’s 10 overtime wins and 15 combined OT/shootout wins led all NHL teams. Colorado was 7-2 in road overtime games, setting a franchise record for road OT wins in a single season.
Getting Offensive:
Colorado finished fourth in the NHL in scoring last season, averaging 2.99 goals-per-game (245 total). It was the club’s most goals and highest average since 2006-07 (267 total, 3.26 per). Colorado had five different 20-goal scorers and five different 50-point producers, the first time the Avs have accomplished either feat since 2006-07. Boston, Chicago, Pittsburgh and St. Louis were the only other teams to have five different players reach both scoring plateaus. Colorado’s defensemen combined for 48 goals and 173 points, their highest totals since 2005-06 (52 and 204).
Specialty Teams:
The Avalanche finished tied for fifth in power-play percentage last season at 19.8% (50-for-252), the club’s highest ranking since placing fourth in 2006-07. Colorado finished 24th in penalty killing at 80.7% (201/249). The Avalanche allowed only one short-handed goal, setting a franchise record for the fewest SHG allowed in a single season. Only the Predators, who did not allow a single short-handed goal, gave up fewer SHG in 2013-14.
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