{"id":3385,"date":"2016-11-17T13:24:42","date_gmt":"2016-11-17T18:24:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/?p=3385"},"modified":"2016-11-17T13:24:42","modified_gmt":"2016-11-17T18:24:42","slug":"colorado-avalanche-look-build-momentum-3-game-road-trip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2016\/11\/17\/colorado-avalanche-look-build-momentum-3-game-road-trip\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado Avalanche Road Trip is a Time to Build Momentum"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>After beating the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhl.com\/kings\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Los Angeles Kings<\/a><\/strong> 4-1 in Denver on Tuesday night, the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhl.com\/avalanche\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Colorado Avalanche<\/a><\/strong> will be hoping to build momentum this week during a three game road trip. Currently sitting in last place in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhl.com\/standings\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Central Division<\/a>, the Avalanche will leave the <strong>Pepsi Center<\/strong> to play the <strong>Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild<\/strong>, and<strong> Columbus Blue Jackets<\/strong> this week before heading back to Denver to play <strong>Connor McDavid<\/strong> and the <strong>Edmonton\u00a0Oilers<\/strong> next Wednesday. The Avs however, are still without leading goal scorer <strong>Matt Duchene<\/strong>. He\u00a0has missed the past two games with &#8220;concussion-like symptoms&#8221; after taking a hit on Friday night from <strong>Jacob Trouba<\/strong> of the <strong>Winnipeg Jets<\/strong> (<a href=\"http:\/\/nhl.nbcsports.com\/2016\/11\/12\/matt-duchene-day-to-day-with-concussion-like-symptoms\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NBC.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Matt Duchene day-to-day with concussion-like\u00a0symptoms <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/o70CFCF1aY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/o70CFCF1aY<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; NBC Sports Hockey (@NBCSportsHockey) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NBCSportsHockey\/status\/797542188536172544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 12, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2>Colorado Avalanche Road Trip is a Time to Build Momentum<\/h2>\n<h3><strong>Thursday<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The first stop for the Avalanche will be the American Airlines Arena in Dallas on Thursday night. Dallas is currently sitting in 5th place in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhl.com\/standings\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Central Division<\/a> with 17 points in 17 games, and will be hungry for a victory after losing their last two games in overtime. The Stars are 26th in the league on the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.espn.com\/nhl\/team\/_\/name\/dal\/dallas-stars\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">penalty kill<\/a>, and goaltender <strong>Antti Niemi<\/strong> has struggled this year, going into Thursday&#8217;s game with\u00a0an .898 save percentage, and averaging 3.44 goals against per game. With that in mind, the Avalanche forwards will be salivating every time Dallas gets sent to the sin bin.<\/p>\n<h3><em>Player to Watch:<\/em> Tyler Seguin<\/h3>\n<p>Tyler Seguin has been on fire this year, putting up 20 points in 17 games which is tied with <strong>Steven Stamkos<\/strong> for third in the league. Seguin has scored 12 points in his last 8 games, and will be hoping get the\u00a0Stars&#8217; offense going again after the team only recorded one goal against the Devils on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>Prediction: 3-2 Colorado<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Saturday<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The Avalanche will head north to St. Paul, Minnesota on Saturday evening to take on the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.espn.com\/nhl\/team\/stats\/_\/name\/min\/minnesota-wild\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Minnesota Wild<\/a>. The Wild are 8-6-1 this season. They\u00a0sit in 4th place in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhl.com\/standings\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Central Division <\/a>with 17 points in 15 games. The Wild are 4-2 at home this season. They also\u00a0have a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhl.com\/standings\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">+12 goal differential<\/a>, which is the best in the Central Division. This game has the potential to be very low scoring, due to the fact that the Wild haven&#8217;t scored more than two goals in their last three games. Their <a href=\"http:\/\/www.espn.com\/nhl\/team\/_\/name\/min\/minnesota-wild\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">penalty kill <\/a>ranks fourth in the league, and goaltender <strong>Devan Dubnyk<\/strong> has been a brick wall this season.<\/p>\n<h3><em>Player to Watch:<\/em> Devan Dubnyk<\/h3>\n<p>Devan Dubnyk has been on fire this season. In 12 games, he&#8217;s put up a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nhl.com\/stats\/player?aggregate=0&amp;gameType=2&amp;report=goaliesummary&amp;pos=G&amp;reportType=season&amp;seasonFrom=20162017&amp;seasonTo=20162017&amp;filter=gamesPlayed,gte,5&amp;sort=savePctg,wins,goalsAgainstAverage\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">.948 <\/a>save percentage, which is tied with<strong> Carey Price<\/strong> for best in the league. On top of that, his <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nhl.com\/stats\/player?aggregate=0&amp;gameType=2&amp;report=goaliesummary&amp;pos=G&amp;reportType=season&amp;seasonFrom=20162017&amp;seasonTo=20162017&amp;filter=gamesPlayed,gte,5&amp;sort=goalsAgainst\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">1.60 <\/a>Goals against average puts him in second place behind <strong>Tuuka Rask<\/strong> of the Bruins. The Avalanche will have a tough time scoring against the Wild, especially if Matt Duchene isn&#8217;t back from injury yet.<\/p>\n<p>Prediction: 2-1 Minnesota<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Monday\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>To finish off their three game road trip, the Avalanche will head to Columbus, Ohio to take on the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.espn.com\/nhl\/team\/_\/name\/cbj\/columbus-blue-jackets\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Blue Jackets<\/a> at Nationwide Arena. The Blue Jackets are 8-4-2 this season. They\u00a0sit in 5th place in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhl.com\/standings\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Metropolitan Division<\/a> with 18 points in 14 games. Colorado will have their hands full with Columbus who who rank in the top ten in the league in goals per game (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.espn.com\/nhl\/team\/_\/name\/cbj\/columbus-blue-jackets\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">2nd<\/a>), goals against per game (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.espn.com\/nhl\/team\/_\/name\/cbj\/columbus-blue-jackets\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">8th<\/a>), power play % (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.espn.com\/nhl\/team\/_\/name\/cbj\/columbus-blue-jackets\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">1st<\/a>), and penalty kill % (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.espn.com\/nhl\/team\/_\/name\/cbj\/columbus-blue-jackets\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">10th<\/a>).<\/p>\n<h3><em>Player to Watch:\u00a0<\/em>Zach Werenski<\/h3>\n<p>The 19-year-old rookie has arrived as advertised this year. The 8th overall pick in the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockeydb.com\/ihdb\/draft\/nhl2015e.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">2015 draft<\/a> has <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nhl.com\/stats\/player?aggregate=0&amp;gameType=2&amp;report=skatersummary&amp;pos=S&amp;reportType=season&amp;seasonFrom=20162017&amp;seasonTo=20162017&amp;filter=gamesPlayed,gte,1&amp;sort=points,goals,gamesPlayed\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">13 points<\/a> in his first 14 NHL games, putting him one point behind <strong>Erik Karlsson<\/strong>, and<strong>\u00a0Brent Burns<\/strong>. Keep in mind Burns and Karlsson have played 16 games,\u00a0<strong>Kevin Shattenkirk<\/strong>\u00a0has played 17 games, and\u00a0Werenski has only played <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nhl.com\/stats\/player?aggregate=0&amp;gameType=2&amp;report=skatersummary&amp;pos=D&amp;reportType=season&amp;seasonFrom=20162017&amp;seasonTo=20162017&amp;filter=gamesPlayed,gte,1&amp;sort=points,goals,gamesPlayed\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">14 games<\/a> this season.<\/p>\n<p>Prediction: 4-2 Colorado<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo<\/p>\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;\">\n<div style=\"padding:0;margin:0;text-align:left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/623549452\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"overflow:hidden;position:relative;height:0;padding:66.498316% 0 0 0;width:100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/623549452?et=xiwzYccVRbZiRz2-aOWWIg&#038;viewMoreLink=off&#038;sig=7cj7w2pahmw9dPn8FdnzXmAUwsivSl-ZxsNzKVWj4oM=&#038;caption=true\" width=\"594\" height=\"395\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"display:inline-block;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;margin:0;\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p style=\"margin:0;\">\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After beating the Los Angeles Kings 4-1 in Denver on Tuesday night, the Colorado Avalanche will be hoping to build momentum this week during a three game road trip. Currently sitting in last place in the Central Division, the Avalanche will leave the Pepsi Center to play the Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, and Columbus Blue [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1734,"featured_media":3449,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[36,111,102,241,37,766,221,38,327],"class_list":["post-3385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avalanche","tag-colorado-avalanche","tag-columbus-blue-jackets","tag-dallas-stars","tag-devan-dubnyk","tag-hockey","tag-matt-duchene","tag-minnesota-wild","tag-nhl","tag-tyler-seguin"],"modified_by":"Colton Praill","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1734"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3385"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3385\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}